Ludhiana to get International Airport at Halwara

December 15, 2018 (AirportChandigarh.com): Ludhiana will now be getting a new airport at Halwara, just 33 km from Ludhiana bus stand. Ludhiana already has an existing airport at Sahnewal having just one flight to Delhi operated by Air Alliance. It has been a long time demand of Ludhiana industrialists to have more flight operations and international flights from Ludhiana. Due to lack of land in the vicinity of Sahnewal airport and other problems, it was not possible to expand the airport.

Previously Machhiwara (also near Ludhiana) was selected to set up an international airport. Punjab cabinet last week gave approval to set up an international civial terminal at Halwara instead. Halwara already has an Air Force station, so it is easier to set up a new airport at the location. Punjab Government has agreed to provide 135.54 acres of land for the international airport project. The airport will be developed jointly by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Punjab government.

The initial phase of the project will be completed within the next three years. The airport will be able to handle wide bodied planes capable of flying to long distance locations. There is also a possibility of using the airport for cargo operations.

This would the third international airport in Punjab with Mohali and Amritsar airports already having international airport tag. Ironically, there are hardly any international flights being operated from Mohali airport and only a few from Amritsar airport. Ludhiana will be a more ideal location for punjabi NRIs who contribute to most traffic landing at Delhi airport. This is because geographically Ludhiana is located in the centre of Punjab and most punjabi NRIs are from Doaba and Malwa region which are in the vicinity of Ludhiana. This could mean a major economic boom for Ludhiana if wide-bodied aircrafts capable of flying to destinations like London, Canada, Australia and U.S.A. start operating from the airprot.

This is something that was expected from Mohali airport too, however even after the intervention of Punjab and Haryana High Court, hardly any international flights are operational from Mohali airport due to one reason or another.