Round-the-clock operation of the Visakhapatnam airport will soon become a reality with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram approving the recruitment of additional manpower.
The Finance Minister, under the guidelines of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, modified the rules approving the manpower recruitment and forwarded the file to the Defence Minister on Thursday for issue of orders to the Indian Navy, according to a statement issued by the chief coordinator of TSR Seva Peetham D. Varada Reddy here.
Rajya Sabha Member T. Subbarami Reddy had convinced the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of the need for sanctioning additional manpower for INS Dega to facilitate 24-hour operation of the airport.
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Visakhapatnam Airport, which began as an airstrip during World War II, had developed gradually over the years.
The extension of the runway to 10,030 feet, provision of ILS (Instrument Landing System), wider aprons and other facilities were witnessed during 2009.
The launch of the international flight to Dubai in March this year and Silk Air announcing its schedule to operate direct flights to Singapore from October 28 have catapulted the airport into a higher plane.
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