Chandigarh Airport Handles Record Number of Flights for the World Cup

Thursday, 31st March 2011 at 05:16am

Following additional flights laid on by Jet Airways from Mumbai and Delhi to Chandigarh on Wednesday March 30th 2011 (and return flights on the 31st), Chandigarh airport dealt with a record 98 flights in one day.

The airport normally deals with just 12 flights a day, but on the 30th, celebrities, business tycoons, Bollywood stars and politicians all used the airport on their way to the India Pakistan cricket match.

Director of Chandigarh airport, H.S. Toor is reported to have said: '49 flights have successfully landed and taken off from the Chandigarh airport, on a bay of just 108 metres, within a span of only eight hours. This is, in fact, a world record and it has not happened anywhere before.'

'Airports Authority of India (AAI) was planning for this day for the last three-four days and today (Wednesday) everything went off properly with close coordination with the Indian Air Force. However, aircrafts were not parked here as we do not have enough parking space. They either went back or flew to nearby locations in Haryana and Punjab,' stated an upbeat Toor.

Included in the list of names passing through the airport were Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

'Now after the match is over, at least 35 flights will again come and take off from here. We still have much work to do,' said Toor.

Normally there are no night-time scheduled flights at Chandigarh airport, but the ATC (air traffic control) managed by the IAF has decided to work till late night after getting various requests.

By: Pete Lee.