NEW DELHI: Commercial flights operations from Hindon airport near Delhi are likely to begin from the first half of October as the Ministry of Defence has given all requisite approvals, a senior official of the Airports Authority of India said on Friday.
Hindon airport, which is around 40 km from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the AAI has developed the civil enclave there.
“Some issues related to slots are yet to be sorted out between the Indian Air Force and airline companies. It is expected that these matters will be resolved soon and the flight operations will begin from first half of October this year from Hindon,” the AAI official said.
“The Ministry of Defence has given green light to the proposal of Ghodawat Enterprises as well as Delhi-based Heritage Aviation for operation of RCS (regional air connectivity scheme) flights from Hindon airport”, the official added.
Ghodawat Enterprises runs the airline brand Star Air, headquartered in Bengaluru.
Under the Civil Aviation Ministry’s regional air connectivity scheme—UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik)—many airline operators, including IndiGo, have bagged routes connecting from Hindon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 8 had inaugurated the new civil enclave at Hindon airport from where commercial flights would be operated.
The civil enclave can handle up to 300 passengers during peak hours. The airport infrastructure was developed by the AAI while the approach road has been built by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Taking off soon
Hindon airport is around 40 km from IGI Airport
Civil enclave can handle up to 300 passengers during peak hours
Civilian enclave at the IAF airport was developed by AAI