All operational airports to get navigational aids by year end: Patel

29 Mar 2007

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Dharamshala: All operational airports in the country will have night landing facility (NLF) and navigational aids by the end of this year, union civil aviation minister, Praful Patel has said.

"We have taken a policy decision to upgrade the basic navigational aids and facilities, including NLF," Patel said after inaugurating a new terminal building and ATC (air traffic control) tower in this town. Located in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala is home to the Dalai Lama and other exiled Tibetans.

According to Patel, the upgrade would have to be done in order to connect the metros, such as Delhi and Mumbai, with smaller towns. The upgrade would also aid in development of remote areas.

Another added factor, according to Patel, was tourism, which would get a fillip through better connectivity. Patel said that tourism had already performed wonders for places such as Dubai and Singapore and the same needed to be done in the country as well.

Patel was speaking on the occasion of Air Deccan launching its inaugural flight from Delhi to Dharamshala. The start of operations makes Air Deccan the first commercial airline to fly on this route since Indian Airlines discontinued its Dornier service here.

The inaugural flight also carried the Dalai Lama from Delhi. According to the airline, a 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft would be deployed to serve this route via Pathankot and operations are scheduled to commence from 6 April.

Being the only means of commercial air link between Pathankot and Dharamshala, the service is expected to provide an additional travel option to mountaineers and tourists, as well as pilgrims.

The up-gradation of the airport here was done at a cost of Rs20 crore. The upgrade is part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the state government and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in 2000 to modernise three airports in the state - Kangra, Kullu and Shimla, according to AAI chairman, K Ramalingam.

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