It’s high time the Government of India came out with a decision on extension of watch hours at Visakhapatnam Airport to facilitate the operation of the Visakhapatnam - Singapore Silk Air flight from October 1.
The government, which had all along been seeking written consent from the airline operators for extension of watch hours, is now ‘tight-lipped’ on the issue though SilkAir has announced its schedule of operation long ago. “There is a danger of the airline postponing the launch or totally pulling out, if the government fails to come out with an early announcement on extension of watch hours,” feel air travellers. Union Minister of Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo has once again written to the Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Tuesday seeking extension of watch hours to facilitate the introduction of the SilkAir flight. In the past, when Mr. Kishore Chandra Deo sought extension of watch hours till midnight, Mr. Antony had replied to him in June 2009 that the Indian Navy was in a position to extend watch hours. He, however, noted that no request was received from any airline for operation of flights beyond the scheduled hours. The Defence Minister had also said that depending on the requirements, the watch hours could be extended.
Three years down the line, when an international operator has given a letter of intent and announced its schedule of operation, the government is unable to give a firm commitment.
Though the Defence Ministry had cleared the file for appointment of additional manpower required to man the airport round-the-clock and sent it to the Finance Ministry for its approval, the latter returned the same on the plea of ‘austerity measures’.
The people’s representatives sought extension of watch hours as a ‘temporary measure’ so that the airport could be kept operational at least till 11.30 p.m. or midnight on the three days on which SilkAir planned to operate. It’s learnt that though the Defence Ministry had agreed to redeploy 20 of the 40 additional staff required for the ‘extended hours’ and the remaining 20 were planned to be redeployed by the AAI, the Navy has not given a written consent to the AAI in this regard, so far.
AAI sources said that they expected a positive reply from the Navy by the end of this month. But, how long can the government keep Silk Air waiting?
