Kullu airport expansion on cards

In order to push the flow of tourists to the lush green hilly state, the Union Government is contemplating to expand the passenger handling capacity of the Kullu airport at Bhuntar in Himachal Pradesh. The airport in question is currently operational and is suitable for operation of ATR type of aircraft with load restrictions in fair weather conditions. In this connection, a study carried out and submitted by IIT Roorkee concluded that the runway can be extended by 550m subject to diversion of river Beas and acquiring additional 1000m x 200m land in the river bed by the State Government. Flight operations in domestic sector have been deregulated and the airlines are free to operate anywhere in the country subject to Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) issued by the Government. However, the airline operators provide air services to specific places depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability. Yet on this score, no definite timeline for expansion of Bhuntar airport has been drawn at this stage as it is for the State Government to demarcate and acquire the land, complete the entire process and hand over the land to AAI for extension of runway, said official sources.