CHANDIGARH, July 2011: As the local airport gets closer to having all necessary infrastructure and clearance to start international operations, Air Arabia, an airline of the United Arab Emirates, has proposed a Chandigarh-Sharjah flight. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received the proposal and will take a decision soon.
Even though Air Arabia was confirmed as the only proposal submitted for international service, AAI sources said that several other airlines have been expressing interest in operating from Chandigarh. According to one source, all infrastructure for international flights is in place at the airport and now all that is needed is clearance for customs operations and night landing.
The informant added that he is hopeful that offers will start pouring in from various international players once these clearances are received. International operations start, the airport would attract more passengers from Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, making international flights an ever more profitable venture. In 2009, AAI had offered to start flights from Chandigarh to Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia.
At the last moment the 2009 Dubai flight had to be cancelled due to insufficient infrastructure. The new terminal at the airport, which was made operational in April, solved this problem. The new terminal has all necessary infrastructure to operate international flights. However, international operations, foreign tourists and cargo traffic cannot go ahead through the airport until it receives the customs airport tag. The night landing clearance from the Ministry of Defence is also necessary. It would allow flight operations to continue until 1 A.M. The airport currently has 12 regular domestic flights operating daily to destinations including Delhi, Mumbai, Jammu, Srinagar and Bengaluru.