VISAKHAPATNAM: BJP State president D Purandeswari has sought a rescheduling of the suspension of night flights at Visakhapatnam airport from November 15. In a letter written to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, she said the Navy has proposed to undertake resurfacing of the airport runway, which has been long overdue.
The Indian Navy, which manages the airport, could not take up resurfacing of the runway works due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the Navy has decided to take up the resurfacing works for which the airport will be closed from 9 PM to 8 AM for five months from November 15.
The closure of the airport will impact 12 flights, including a lone international flight, operated from Visakhapatnam between 9 PM and 8 AM. The closure will also disrupt air services to Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Pune.
She said Vizag is an emerging industrial hub catering to the needs of pharma, textile, aqua and other sectors, besides being a major tourist destination in the State. Hence, the pronged closure of the airport at night will hit the economy of Visakhapatnam and the business of various industrial sectors in and around the Port City, she explained.
She urged the Union Defence Minister to initiate steps to revisit the airport closure timings. The timings should be limited from 10.30 pm to 6.30 am for eight hours instead of the proposed 9 PM to 8 AM for 11 hours to support the economy of Vizag, she said.