CM urges Defence Minister not to curb air traffic

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu demanded the Central government not to impose any restrictions on civilian air traffic at Visakhapatnam International Airport as it is the only major operating international airport in the state.

In a letter to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, Naidu explained that as per the Military-Civil coordination meeting held on May 2, 2018 at INS Dega, several restrictions were proposed on civilian aircraft movements in the Visakhapatnam Airport.

If the proposed restrictions are implemented, it will have an effect of about 5-7 hours on weekdays, including peak traffic period in the evening. The proposed restriction is envisaged to have severe impact on the civil air traffic in Vizag along with economy and tourism of the state, he said.

This move would likely force the scheduled airlines operators to reduce number of aircraft movements at Vizag Airport, he said. It was proposed to reserve military slots between 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm for Monday to Friday, night movements between 7 pm to 9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays additionally, along with maintenance slots between 9.30 am to 11.30 am on Saturdays and Sundays.

Further, Naidu urged the defence minister not to restrict traffic of civilian aircraft till airport at Bhogapuram is completed. He explained that the state government was planning to develop a greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, about 45 Km from the existing airport at Vizag. After the development of Bhogapuram, the runway of INS Dega will be available for completely military purpose, he said.