PUNE: The airport advisory committee chairman, Girish Bapat, on Thursday said a new facility, be it in Purandar, Supa (near Baramati) or Baramati, would be inconvenient for flyers from the city because of its distance.
“I don’t have any problems if an airport comes up at Purandar, Supa or in Baramati. I shall not have any problems if 10 new airports come around Pune. But the Lohegaon airport is the best for the flyers distance-wise. Any airport built anywhere will need a proper channel of roads, which, at present, is not there,” said Pune MP Bapat, a few days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar said he would initiate talks with the defence ministry on reasons behind the cancellation of the new site for the proposed Pune airport after approval.
The new proposed site was nearer to Baramati district. Pawar had said the issue would be resolved within a fortnight.
Bapat said, “I don’t have any issues if Sharad Pawar wants an airport at Supa or in Baramati. We have been working for three years for the proper expansion of the Lohegaon facility and, despite delays, have got help from the defence ministry and the Centre’s infrastructure committee. After its full expansion, the airport will be able to cater to passengers for a long time. No matter how many airports come up, Lohegaon will be the main airport for Pune.”
The Lohegaon airport is a part of the defence airfield controlled by the Indian Air Force (IAF). It has allowed the Airports Authority of India to use the facility as a civil enclave. On if he intended to request IAF to shift the airbase permanently, Bapat said, “We don’t mind at all that IAF’s activities are going on at Lohegaon. Each day, a time is reserved for its pilots’ practice sessions. Let them continue with their activities, but simultaneously, civil aircraft movements can happen. Therefore, we want the facility’s expansion.”
Wide aircraft do not operate from the Lohegaon airport at present due to short runway. Bapat said the runway extension was a part of the expansion plan. “It needs proper land acquisition. Presently, things are slow, but will pick up pace,” he said.
