Immigration Clearance Soon for Chandigarh Airport international flights
September 15, 2011: Chandigarh airport’s long wait for Customs clearance from the Union government is reportedly near an end. Immigration clearance is also expected to be given to the airport in the coming weeks.
Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) issued a notification on August 19 approving a Customs facility setup at the Chandigarh Airport. The Punjab government and the airport director received copies of the notification and are prepared to move Customs officials into the 1,500 square feet of space that has been allotted for the facility.
The customs team at the airport will be headed by an officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of customs. According to sources, the immigration facility clearance should be issued within a fortnight.
An airport official detailed the measures taken so far to set up customs and immigration, saying that about 30 Punjab police personnel have been trained to work as immigration officers. The training took place at Amritsar International Airport and now the personnel will report to Chandigarh Administration for placement in the Chandigarh Airport immigration facility. He added that baggage X-ray machines have been set up and that the computerized immigration system is currently being installed.
Passenger traffic at the Chandigarh Airport is on the rise and expected to continue growing. Three years ago the passenger traffic was 1.5 lakh. Today that number is quadrupled with 6 lakh passengers annually. An Airport Authority of India survey estimates that annual passengers will increase to 8 lakh this year and reach 15 lakh by 2013.
Air Arabia, which is planning to offer a flight from Chandigarh to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has submitted an application to the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) for clearance, according to sources. The airline operates from various cities in UAE.
The Union government granted clearance to Fly Dubai, a low-cost airline of Emirates Airlines, to fly from Chandigarh to Dubai. However, this flight could not operate as the airport had still not received customs and immigration clearance at that time. Other major airlines are expected to start operating from Chandigarh airport in the near future.
According to an officer, passenger traffic was one reason that major airlines will want to fly from Chandigarh. Another reason is the lower operating costs compared to Delhi. For instance, Delhi’s Value Added Tax is 12 percent compared to only 4 percent in Chandigarh. Parking charges are also less.
Chandigarh Airport set up a special customs counter when the Pakistan prime minister arrived with a delegation, flying directly from Islamabad to Chandigarh to attend the Cricket World Cup semi final match between India and Pakistan.