Expansion of Bhuntar airstrip hangs fire

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, October 25

The expansion of the runway at the Kullu-Manali Airport at Bhuntar is hanging fire for a long time. Many surveys regarding the runway expansion have been conducted in the past but nothing concrete has happened.

Why runway expansion

• The runway expansion is a must to enable medium-size aircraft to operate and ferry more passengers, say hoteliers.
• It will also encourage other airlines to start operations in this sector, thereby reducing airfares, and in turn promoting tourism and boosting the economy of the region.

The airport expansion is a long-pending demand of the region’s hoteliers as well as other stakeholders of the tourism industry. Due to the short runway, a routine aircraft packed with passengers cannot land or take off, which forces travellers to pay hefty charges for travelling between Delhi and Kullu.

At present, a 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft of Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of national carrier Air India, is operating from the airport. The aircraft is allowed to ferry only around 20 passengers due to load stipulation because of the short runway.

The airline generally charges above Rs 22,000 for a Kullu-Delhi ticket and over Rs 20,000 for Kullu-Chandigarh travel.

The hoteliers said the runway expansion was a must to enable medium-size aircraft to operate and ferry more passengers. It would also encourage other airlines to start operations in this sector, thereby reducing airfares, which, in turn, would promote tourism and boost the economy of the region.

A team of senior officials of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had carried out a survey on March 6 to explore the possibility of runway extension. There is a proposal to increase the length of the runway from 1,052 metres to 1,712 metres by diverting the Beas.

Mukesh Thakur, president of Hoteliers Association Manali, said, “The association has raised the issue with the state and Central Governments. However, there is little possibility for its expansion. The government is constructing a big airport in Mandi and we are hopeful that it will give impetus to the tourism industry here”.