Intra-State Flights From Begumpet: CM
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has mooted a proposal to reopen the Begumpet airport but only for intra-state flights. The state government will monetarily compensate the GMR-led Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL) for the loss of revenue which will result from these flights not taking off from Shamshabad or landing there.
Highly placed sources said the proposal would be required to be formally initiated by the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) as it is this agency which had entered into a concession agreement with the promoters of the Hyderabad airport. The agreement stipulated that the Begumpet airport be closed once Shamshabad became operational. It also agreed that no other civil airport would come up within a range of 150 km of Shamshabad. An approval for the arrangement would also be required from the new airport owners also, as they are signatories to the concession agreement. Their views on this subject are not known, but analysts felt that trying to amend the concession agreement is hardly a good precedent.
The state government’s intention of putting Begumpet to use was indicated by none less than chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on the floor of the assembly on Wednesday when he said the now closed airport could be used for “internal use,” but he did not elaborate.
Sources in the chief minister’s office claimed that YSR was getting representations from MPs/MLAs to reopen Begumpet because it would provide easier connectivity within the state. “Intra-state flights are typically of one-hour duration. Begumpet is in the heart of the city whereas Shamshabad is a little distant. It takes more time to reach Shamshabad from within the city than a flight to say Vijayawada would take from Hyderabad. This will deter passengers from using the air route for such flights,” an official of the chief minister’s office said.
Interestingly, during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the assembly on Wednesday, YSR blamed the Chandrababu Naidu government for zeroing in on a location for a new airport so far from the heart of the city. “Why could you not find land closer?” the CM asked adding that his government was working at express speed to ensure connectivity.
The YSR government has also embarked on an ambitious plan of linking the state by air and the plan is to build around 29 airports across Andhra Pradesh. In recent days, even civil aviation minister Praful Patel and senior officials of the MoCA have also been talking of putting the Begumpet airport to good use. This by keeping it open for VIP flights, helicopter services etc. Though they have not specified it in so many words, hints have been thrown that the airport could be used for chartered flights also.
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