December 29, 2011: After declaring many deadlines that Chandigarh Airport was not able to meet about flying international, no announcement has been made since last month. The airport director had declared Nov 15, 2011 as the date when the first international flight would take off from Chandigarh Airport. But that didn't happen, thanks to Civil Aviation Ministry and Ministry of Defense who still have not provided the clearance.
Chandigarh Airport is fully geared up for international flights. Think about it. It has already been flying planes for many years, so if a plane goes to London instead of Delhi, it's not a big deal. The problem is administrative, not whether it is prepared or not. The staff is trained and customs clearance had already been acquired by Chandigarh Airport for international flights and the airport has international standards.
The new ILS (Instrument Landing System) at the airport is able to work in the foggy weather offering a visibility within 1.2 km, which translates into less cancelled flights. The foggy weather in Chandigarh can reduce the visibility to 800 metres sometimes. During such times, the ILS will not really work. However, compared to last year, the flight cancellations were common even with a 3 km visibility in fog.
In the mean time, farmers whose lands were acquired for the international airport coming up in Mohali to be named Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, protested against GMADA, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority office for not paying the full price for the land yet. They were promised a hefty 1.5 crore per acre in 2008.