Khattar to inaugurate Hisar airport on Aug 15

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will inaugurate the first civil airport of the state established at a cost of Rs 12.36 crore in Hisar on August 15, state Civil Aviation Minister Rao Narbir Singh said today.

He said the airport has been set up in a "record time" with the support from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The passenger terminal to be dedicated to the public would comprise of all facilities including X-ray baggage scanning, reception area, as well as security hold area as per the norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Singh said in an official statement here.

According to Singh, the airport was selected by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS)--UDAN, in which one airline, Pinnacle Airways Limited, has bid for two routes -- Delhi-Hisar and Hisar-Chandigarh. Six flights a week have been planned on both routes, he added.

He said the airline is in the process of obtaining the requisite approvals from the AAI and the DGCA and is expected to commence operations from October 15, 2018.

The state government intends to invite non-scheduled operator permit holders to operate on mutually acceptable routes from the Hisar Civil Airport, for which it would provide attractive incentives, Singh said.

"The chief minister would inaugurate the passenger terminal under Phase-I of the integrated aviation hub project and also sign a Memorandum of Agreement with SpiceJet Limited for collaboration in development of Phase-II and III of the integrated aviation hub to come up on 4,200 acres of land which has been earmarked for the project," he said.

Singh said that under Phase-II, the existing airstrip of 4,000 feet would be extended to 9,000 feet with state-of-the-art navigation facilities including night landing and parking for larger aircraft like Airbus A-320.

In addition, a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility would be established for maintenance and repair of aircraft, he said, adding that the new airport would help decongest the Delhi airport.

"These would help decongest the Delhi airport and provide basing, parking, maintenance and repair facilities for the aircrafts. Meanwhile, simultaneously, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be prepared for phase III for establishment of International Passenger and Cargo airport, aviation academy and aerospace and defence industry.

"It is planned to complete the execution of phase II activities and DPR for phase III within the next 18 months," he said.