CM demands special central assistance for expansion of Kangra Airport

SHIMLA 23rd July, 2025

• Writes letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister to resume daily flight operations on Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla route

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has requested Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to expedite the various issues relating to the Civil Aviation sector in Himachal Pradesh as discussed with him during his recent visit to New Delhi.
In a letter written to him, the Chief Minister said that the State has to acquire approximately 150 hectare of land for the proposed expansion of Kangra airport and the State Government has started the process and awards for more than Rs. 1900 crore are ready and Rs. 410 crore have been disbursed. He said that the statutory stipulated period of one year is ending in August this year. He asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to recommend this project to the Ministry of Finance and the PMO for Special Central Assistance.
Sh. Sukhu also wrote that the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report of Kangra Airport prepared by M/s WAPCOS Ltd. should also be reviewed for arriving at a realistic assessment of cost by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) as it was on a higher side. He also urged for exploring one of the options, the possibility of entering into a tripartite agreement with AAI, State of Himachal Pradesh and private partner for the expansion Kangra airport. He said that Kangra Airport currently operates under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) requiring a minimum visibility of 5 kilometers for flight operations and urged to make a provision for introduction of Special VFR operations to reduce the minimum visibility criteria from existing 5 kilometers to 2.5 kilometers to ensure operation of flights during reduced visibility conditions.
The Chief Minister said that Kangra Airport is the biggest and busiest airport in Himachal Pradesh, therefore, it shall be equipped with night landing facilities. He asked for deployment of Himachal Pradesh State Police instead of CISF for airport security at Kullu and Shimla airports on the analogy of Kangra aiport. He also urged for extending watch hours for the flight’s operations at Shimla airport from 1.00 PM to 4.00 PM providing a larger window for the operation of flights.
Sh. Sukhu requested to provide second apron at Shimla airport suitable for operations of ATR 42/600 type of aircraft which will go a long way in increasing the flight operations and support multiple flight operations from Shimla Airport. He also asked for resuming daily flight operations on Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla sector by Alliance Air Ltd.
The Chief Minister urged for conveying operational authorization for Sanjauli, Rampur, Baddi and Kangnidhar heliports by the October, 2025. He said that four additional heliports under RCS UDAN Phase-2 will be sanctioned for the State at Jaskot in Hamirpur, Dehra in Kangra and one each in Una and Bilaspur districts for boosting air connectivity. He said that Air operators like M/s Heritage Aviation, M/s Global Vectra and M/s Pawan Hans Ltd. will be directed to operationalize on their routes under RCS UDAN.