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ShareChandigarh: Punjab chief minister (CM) Parkash Singh Badal's request to the defence ministry to keep the air traffic control (ATC) tower at Chandigarh Airport open till late for flights from Dubai has sparked a controversy.
In a letter to defence minister AK Antony on Wednesday, the CM demanded that the Air Force authorities who control air traffic at the airport be directed to keep the tower operational till 1 am. Badal pointed out that the ministry of civil aviation had okayed Chandigarh Airport as an international point of call to the designated airlines of the UAE (Dubai) to commence international operations. He said Fly Dubai intended to launch international operations from Chandigarh on July 3, but the airline had been denied permission by the Indian Air Force because the ATC watch hours in Chandigarh were only up to 8 pm, whereas Fly Dubai aircraft intended to land at 11.30 pm and depart at 12.30 am.
Senior officials in the Punjab civil aviation department could not explain the need for the extension in ATC watch hours for flights from Dubai alone.Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira wondered why the CM was taking "unusual interest" in flights from Dubai. He said it was public knowledge that the CM's son and former deputy CM Sukhbir Badal had been to Dubai on a holiday recently. "Does the family have business interests (in Dubai)?" he wondered.
A senior official in the state civil aviation department said "the CM's request to have the ATC timings extended only for flights from Dubai was indeed baffling". Incidentally, the Badal government's interest in promoting Chandigarh Airport as an international point has been pronounced.
