Tata Sons team, MP discuss Halwara airport operations

Ludhiana, August 20

A four-member high-level team sent by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, met with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora in New Delhi to discuss the possibility of starting flights from the upcoming airport at Halwara, which is nearing completion.

The MP said Piyush Kharbanda, Government Relations and Corporate; Kartikey Bhat, Head Slots and Airport Relations, Air India; Shashi Chetia, vice-president, Network Planning and Alliances, Air India Express, and Moin Wasil, AVP and Head, Regulatory Affairs at Vistara, were present at the meeting.

Arora said he had requested the Tata Sons Chairman to accept his request and start flights from the Halwara airport. The Chairman sent a four-member team to him to have detailed discussions. He said he apprised the team that he had personally reviewed the ongoing work at the airport and found that almost 100 per cent work of the civilian section had been completed. However, some work was pending at the IAF section, which was likely to be completed in the near future. After that, the Halwara Airport would be ready to be made operational.

The legislator added the team members told him that the Tata Group was in the process of merger of airlines, which was likely to be completed in November this year. Till then, as per corporate policy, they will not be adding a new airport to the schedule. The members promised that the flights would be started after the merger is completed in November. The members assured the MP that, in the meantime, they would conduct a comprehensive study on flight operations from the Halwara Airport. The study would also look into the financial, traffic marketing aspects of the operations.

Arora said the Halwara airport had the capacity to accommodate 300 passengers at any given time. He added the airport had the provision for expansion in the future. He said two wide-bodied aircrafts can be parked at one time.

Arora reiterated that there had been some delay in completing the project due to a delay in getting some approvals from the Airports Authority of India and the IAF. The airport is being set up over 161.28 acres. Of this, the built-up Terminal area is 2,000 sq m. The total project cost, excluding land, is around Rs 70 crore.

He hoped the project, after completion, would prove beneficial not only for Ludhiana but also for the state as it would give a boost to the local economy.