The Hindu Business Line : New Hyderabad airport commercial operations delayed

Setting the stage: The UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, who unveiled the portrait of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy; and the GHIAL Chairman, Mr G. M. Rao; during the inauguration of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on Friday. - Mohammed Yousuf

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, March 14 The greenfield GMR airport at Hyderabad hit a roadblock on Friday with the Ministry of Civil Aviation announcing a delay in launch of commercial operations “due to operational issues”. The Ministry said the new date would be notified soon.

Confirming the delay, a GMR group spokesperson said that some airlines have approached the Ministry seeking more time to shift operations to the new airport.

“Acceding to their requests, the Ministry has advised us to begin operations in a few days. We will intimate the new date and commence operations soon,” he said.

He asserted that the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is ready in all respects, indicating that the delay is not on their part.

Commercial operations at the greenfield airport were originally scheduled to begin from zero hours (12.01 a.m.) on Sunday.

News of the postponement broke out in Delhi, but did not reach the hundreds of participants attending the meeting where Ms Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of UPA’s National Advisory Council, formally inaugurated the new airport at Shamshabad here.

Addressing a gathering after the inaugural, Ms Gandhi said air travel was no longer elitist thanks to the boom in the aviation sector. The new airport would stimulate economic activity by attracting investments, and would be of great help to farmers and women self-help groups as well, she said.

“If provided space at the airport, women SHGs under Indira Kranthi Patham, women making laces at the Narsapur export facility and women producing organic coffee at Paderu (Visakhapatnam district) could access remunerative markets,” she said.

Emotional

Ms Gandhi got emotional when viewing a film capsule on her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, with clippings of his aviation days. The airport has been named after him. Mr Praful Patel, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, said the airport would help farmers access export markets for their produce, getting higher realisations.

The Rs 2,478-crore airport is being taken under public-private partnership.

Protests

The inaugural, however, was marred by protests by Telugu Desam legislators a few km away from the venue. The police arrested 12 legislators and scores of party activists who were demanding that the domestic terminal at the airport should be named after N.T. Rama Rao, the former Chief Minister.