Allow civil flights from Ambala airfield

Wg Cdr JS Bhalla (Retd)

The Air Force stations at Pathankot, Adampur and Halwara were repeatedly attacked by Pakistan during the 1965 war but they withstood the onslaught of the enemy attacks with no damage to the airfields. The iron curtain of security did not allow non-military personnel to have access to these airfields. The bases, which were earlier exclusively used for military operations, are gradually opening up for civil operations, maybe even at some security risk. 

Pathankot became part of the civil aviation authority map when Alliance Air started operating its first flight from New Delhi to this border district in Punjab under the UDAN scheme. The Civil Aviation Minister inaugurated the airport on April 5 this year to improve air connectivity. The civil operations from Pathankot are still in infancy while talks of changing the name of the airport are simmering.

The Air Force Station at Adampur in Punjab became the second fighter base in a month to be opened to civil traffic where the civil aviation authorities will operate flights regularly to various destinations. The maiden flight of Spice Jet from Delhi landed at Adampur at 4.45 pm on May 1. Both these bases are manned by the Indian Air Force.   

The Air Force Station, Chandigarh, which was exclusively meant for military operations, opened to civil traffic in 1970 with flights restricted to only Delhi. The airfield was upgraded to an international airport in October 2016. Today, there are 28 flights, including three international flights to Dubai, Sharjah and Bankok, operating. The ATC services and the runway, which are controlled by the Air Force, do not provide night landing facilities to civil flights at present though technically the airfield is equipped for night operations. This is one of the reasons why many of the new airline operators are unwilling to launch their international flights from this base.  

The Chandigarh airport is frequently closed for the runway upgrade work. At present some part of the work is undertaken at night on Sundays to avoid disruption of flight operations. To complete the last stretch of the work, the airport is closed to all traffic from May 12 to 31 and no flight operations are being undertaken from this base. Transport aircraft will be relocated to provide air support to the armed forces deployed in the hilly terrain of the northern sector. 

At present no civil flights operate from the Air Force Station, Ambala. During the closure of the Chandigarh airport up to May 31 civil domestic flights may be permitted to operate from the closely located airfield at Ambala, keeping in view the policy of allowing operation of civil flights from the military bases such as Pathtankot and Adampur. This will provide considerable relief to regular travellers who due to the closure of the Chandigarh airport have to rush to Delhi to catch connecting flights. Permitting civil aircraft to operate from Ambala till May 31 will enhance air connectivity in the region, which is needed under the UDAN scheme. May be in the time to come, the Union Ministry of Defence approves regular civil flights from Ambala.

(The writer is a resident of Chandigarh)