The Punjab Government, on Monday, urged the Central government to add Mohali to the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport Chandigarh.

The terminal of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport Chandigarh has been constructed on the land falling in the revenue district of SAS Nagar, Mohali but unfortunately, the name of Mohali is missing from the airport’s name, said Rahul Bhandari, Principal Secretary, Civil Aviation.

Bhandari presented the case of Punjab during an interactive session held with States and Union Territories on aviation security, developments of airports, greenfield airports, heliports and water aerodromes today,

He said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already lodged a protest for not including the name of the city Mohali in the name of this airport, adding that this legitimate demand should be looked into.

Bhandari said that this will fulfil the long pending demand of the Punjabis. He also sought more international flights from this airport. He said that already more than Rs 450 crore has been spent on the facelift of this world class airport.

Bhandari said the starting of more international flights will help NRIs from Punjab to stay connected with their roots and added that people from not only Punjab but also from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand will benefit if the number of international flights increase.

The Punjab Government also sought the resumption of domestic flights from Adampur (Jalandhar), Pathankot, Sahnewal and Bhatinda airports.

Bhandari said that these airports were a part of the regional connectivity service of the Centre. During the corona pandemic, the services from these airports were stopped, causing a lot of inconvenience to passengers, he said.

The Principal Secretary said that this must be reversed and the Centre must immediately resume flights from these airports. This will help in saving time, money and energy of people besides ensuring direct air connectivity to different parts of the country and will also give a major fillip to the economic activity in the region, he said.

Flagging another issue, the Principal Secretary urged the Centre to expedite the work on the construction of a civil terminal at Halwara airport for which the land has already been given by the Punjab government. The work on this ambitious project worth Rs 46 crore has already begun. The need of the hour is to speed up the work for its early completion, said Bhandari.