Himachal Pradesh CM seeks more flights on Chandigarh-Shimla route
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday sought enhanced Central support for strengthening the state’s aviation infrastructure, with a special focus on the expansion of Kangra airport, during a meeting with Union Civil Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.
Emphasising Kangra’s vast tourism potential, Sukhu said the state government was implementing ambitious projects to attract more visitors and that improved air connectivity was crucial to this effort. He urged the Centre to expedite the settlement of pending issues related to the airport’s expansion and provide special financial assistance for the project.
To improve flight operations in the state, the Chief Minister suggested the introduction of special visual flight rules to reduce the minimum visibility requirement from the existing 5 km to 2.5 km, allowing aircraft to operate during low-visibility conditions. He also proposed extending flight operation hours at Shimla airport up to 4 pm to facilitate additional services.
Sukhu further raised the issue of airport security, suggesting that the Kullu and Shimla airports be handed over to the state police instead of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), citing relatively low passenger traffic and flight frequency. The move, he said, would also help reduce the financial burden on the state. He requested an increase in the frequency of flights on the Chandigarh–Shimla and Shimla–Chandigarh routes and pressed for early approval of four proposed heliports to boost regional connectivity.
Responding to the demands, the Union Civil Aviation Minister directed officials to convene a joint meeting with state authorities and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the expansion of Kangra airport, assuring full cooperation from the Centre.
Earlier in the day, Sukhu met Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav and sought recognition of Himachal Pradesh’s actual forest and tree cover of 29.5 per cent for ecological assessments and related allocations.
