The number of passengers has doubled in the past 5 years; and most of them go to Delhi to take international flights
Pune airport has seen nearly a 50 per cent increase in the number of passengers as well as air traffic movement in the past five years. Most of these passengers prefer to travel to Delhi for international flights, which explains why the city needs a separate international airport.
In the past five years the city has grown rapidly which has also resulted into a considerable increase in the number of passengers on the city’s airport. The footfall at the airport was over 17 lakh in 2008, which went up to 33.50 lakh in 2012.
Two months back the prime minister gave his nod to the proposed Pune International Airport plan. Once operational, the airport authorities are expecting to rope in more businesses and also enhance Pune’s connectivity with international destinations.
“The new airport will open the gateway for Pune and adjoining cities. Passengers will not have to travel to Mumbai or Delhi to catch international flights. Flight operators, on their part, believe that their business will pick up and they will be able to provide more options to passengers traveling from Pune airport,” said SK Jain, president of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA).
It will be a big boost for the people of Pune if they get international flights here as most of the time passengers have to travel to Mumbai and New Delhi to take international flights, and a lot of time is lost in it, Jain said.
“The schedule for commercial flights is tight as right now we are sharing the airstrip with the Indian Air Force. The new airport will address this issue and we can have direct connectivity with international destinations,” he added.
Pune airport currently operates with 110 civilian flights (incoming and outgoing) daily, out of which 15 flights go to Delhi everyday. The schedule will be busier once the new airport is operational.
Fog: Two Delhi flights cancelled, 15 delayed
While two Delhi-bound flights had to be cancelled on Monday due to thick fog cover in Delhi, 15 more flights were delayed. The flights were operating more than two hours behind their schedule.
Two flights got cancelled as the visibility on the Delhi airport’s runway was less than 50 metres. Delhi-Pune Air India flight 851 was cancelled and passengers were shifted to the evening flight.
Air India’s Pune station manager Dhairyashil Vandekar said, “Due to heavy fog the incoming flight from Delhi was unable to take off, but we have shifted the passengers in the evening flight. Also full refund was given to passengers who wanted to cancel their tickets.”
The flight operations were, however, back to normal towards the evening. Pune airport director Manoj Gangal said, “On Monday only two flights were cancelled due to fog in New Delhi. As many as 15 flights got delayed on Monday by 25 minutes, and the airlines informed its passengers in advance about the delay. Though the delay was minor, we had made arrangements so passengers did not have to wait for a long time. Right now, we can’t tell much about the weather conditions in the coming days.”
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