Hindon to be used for some civilian flights

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has agreed to allow the use of its Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, western UP, for civilian flights under the government’s regional connectivity scheme.

The Air Force has agreed to allow the use of its Hindon airbase in the Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district, which borders Delhi, for civilian flights under the government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS), civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey said on Wednesday.

The move will reportedly help take the load off Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, which is facing slot constraints. The Hindon base will serve as the “second” airport in the National Capital Region for flights operating under the RCS.

“In the second round of bidding for RCS, we expect a significant demand for slots for Delhi airport. We recognise that it will be difficult for DIAL to provide all the slots and we have preemptively

taken up the matter with the IAF, which has gone out of the way to cooperate with us and make their airbase available to us,” Mr. Choubey was quoted by news agencies as saying at an ASSOCHAM event on Wednesday.

The operation of civil aircraft from the airbase on the outskirts of Delhi are likely to start