Chandigarh Airport wore a deserted look on Monday. Flights were operating for limited hours due to runway repairs. Airlines received no passenger bookings, and travel agents also reported poor response. Under the new schedule, partial operations will operate until November 18th. Normal operations are expected to resume soon.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport wore a deserted look on Monday. Despite the partial resumption of flights, passengers remained empty. Although the suspension order was relaxed, the airport remained empty. Only airport staff were seen in the passenger lounge.
Earlier, authorities had announced a complete suspension of all flights from October 27 due to runway repair work. However, a revised NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued by the Indian Air Force (IAF) two days ago allowed limited flight operations during certain hours. Since this change came at such a short notice, airline operators reported no passenger bookings for Monday.
An airline operator said, “We did not receive any bookings on Monday, so our flights remained grounded. We have some bookings for Tuesday and we hope to gradually increase operations.” Travel agents also reported poor response from passengers. “After the revised NOTAM was published, people started enquiring about flight availability. But since the operating hours are very limited – from 5 am to 12 noon – very few people are opting to book tickets,” said Parminder Singh Sethi, a city-based travel agent.
The IAF had previously announced a complete closure of Chandigarh Airport for runway maintenance. However, it later revised the order to allow partial flight operations during the repair period. According to the revised NOTAM, the airport will be partially operational from October 26 to November 18.
Under the new schedule, from October 26 to November 6, flight operations are permitted from 5 AM to 12 PM, and will be suspended from 12 PM to 5 AM the next day. In the next phase, from November 7 to November 18, flights will be permitted from 5 AM to 11 PM, and will be suspended from 11 PM to 5 AM.
This is due to polymer modified emulsion (PME) work on the closed runway. During the restricted hours, only rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) are allowed to operate, subject to prior permission from the authorities.
This situation is a bit inconvenient for passengers. Those who want to travel early in the morning are comfortable with this timing, but those who want to travel in the afternoon or evening are facing difficulties. Airlines and travel agents are expecting an increase in bookings as people become aware of the new schedule. It is also hoped that the repair work will be completed soon and the airport will resume full normal operations.
