Chandigarh airport to remain shut till May 31

chandigarh — The Chandigarh International Airport was closed for all air traffic on Saturday until May 31 to carry out runway expansion and repairs, officials said here.

“No civil and military flights will operate from Chandigarh from May 12 to May 31,” a Chandigarh International Airport Ltd spokesman said.

The 20-day closure would affect over 100,000 passengers, especially during the summer vacation season.

This is the second phase of runway repair. It involves improvements and extension of runway ends from the existing 9,000 to 10,400 feet.

The first phase was carried out from February 12 to 26. The expansion would enable operation of wide-bodied aircraft that will help air carriers to connect Chandigarh with destinations in Europe, the US and Australia.

The airport is a frontier base for the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has a transport unit based here catering to the forward areas in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Ladakh region.

During the closure, the IAF has relocated all its aircraft to other bases in north India.

The Chandigarh airport handles nearly 30 commercial flights daily, including those to Dubai, Sharjah and Bangkok. The city is linked to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Jaipur and a few other cities in the domestic circuit. —