Airport names should have local fervour, says Parl panel

Names of airports should be appealing to the masses with "local fervour", a Parliamentary panel said today as it pitched for revisiting the current naming system followed for aerodromes.
Further, the panel urged the Civil Aviation Ministry as well as the governments of Punjab and Haryana to reach a consensus on naming the Chandigarh airport.
The suggestions have been made by the Committee on Government Assurances, chaired by BJP member Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in a report tabled in Parliament today.
In the report titled 'Review of Pending Assurances Pertaining to the Ministry of Civil Aviation', the panel expressed desire that the existing system of naming airports be revisited.

It should be done in such a way that "the names given to the airports of the country are mass appealing with local fervor and are able to portray the tourist attractions/ cultural heritage of the state/region", the report said.
The suggestion also comes against the backdrop of the government looking at naming new airports after cities of their location and terminals after eminent personalities.

Meanwhile, the committee observed that the Ministry's assurance, given back in November 2011, about naming Raipur and Chandigarh airports have not been completely fulfilled.
Raipur aerodrome has been renamed as Swami Vivekananda Airport.
With respect to Chandigarh airport, the report said no unanimous decision could be reached by Punjab and Haryana resulting in inordinate delay in naming the aerodrome.

"Except for maintaining that an agreement on the issue should be reached between the two states... The Ministry has failed to take concrete steps to coordinate and hold further discussions with the two states and arrive at a solution," it added.
There has been political controversy over naming of Chandigarh airport and many had favoured naming the aerodrome after Bhagat Singh.
Last month, the government informed the Lok Sabha that a "consensus view" has emerged on naming airports after cities of their location.
There are more than 75 operational airports in the country and many of them are named after personalities, including political leaders from the Congress party.

"...A consensus view has emerged to hereafter name the airports by the name of the city in which they are located/ served and the terminals of the airports after eminent personalities in honour of their memory," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had said in a written reply.
The view has emerged in the wake of lack of any firm and explicit instructions or guidelines for naming or renaming airports in the country, the minister had said.