Chandigarh, January 8
The Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to spend Rs 80 crore on the expansion of the Guru Ram Dass International Airport at Amritsar. The frequency of Air India flights to Toronto (Canada) from this airport would be doubled by April. The ministry has also decided to start low tariff flights for the working class, on the pattern of Kerala, from Amritsar to Middle East especially Dubai from June.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has almost completed the first phase of the expansion of the Amritsar airport by spending Rs 80 crore. However, additional amount of Rs 80 crore has also been approved to further expand it. This information was given by Mr K.Ramalinga, the AAI Chairman, to Mr Manohar Singh Gill, Rajya Sabha Member from Punjab, at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of Parliament for the Civil Aviation Ministry. Mr Praful Patel, Civil Aviation Minister, was also present at the meeting which was held on the evening of January 6.
Mr Gill, who is a member of the committee, told The Tribune today on the phone from Delhi, that Mr Ramalingam had informed him that the process of floating tenders for the expansion of the Amritsar airport had already been started. Raising the issue at the meeting, Mr Gill had urged the Civil Aviation authorities that they should give similar attention to the Amritsar airport as they were giving to Mumbai and Delhi airports. He had also urged for increasing the frequency of flights from Amritsar to Europe and the USA.
Mr Gill said that Mr Ramalingam had told him that after spending the additional Rs 80 crore, a plan was being prepared to spend Rs 300 crore in the third phase at the
Amritsar airport.
Mr Gill said that Mr Praful had told him that by April, the Air India flight from Amritsar to Toronto would be operated six days a week. At present, it was three days a week. There was a proposal to start direct flights to Toronto from Amritsar, said Mr Gill. It would be possible in June.
Air India had been running flights for Keralites and Maharashtrian working class to Dubai and other Middle East countries and the fare charged was around Rs 4,000 per head, said Mr Gill. “Mr Patel has agreed to start one flight a week from Amritsar on the Kerala pattern,” he added.
