In big setback for Chandigarh airport, IndiGo suspends Dubai flights; may lose 'international' tag

The 'international' in the Chandigarh International Airport might disappear soon as two airlines have decided to shut operations from the airport, temporarily. IndiGo has announced that it will suspend operations of its flights from Chandigarh to Dubai and vice-versa with effect from December 15 to February 15.

The reason that is being cited pertains to the absence of advanced instrument landing system, Times of India reported. Poor visibility and bad weather conditions due to severe winters are hampering the smooth functioning of its operations, it indicated. 

Deepesh Joshi, Chandigarh International Airport Limited's spokesperson said, "We have received confirmation from IndiGo about the temporary suspension of Dubai flight during the winter season.: A senior official in IndiGo said that the flight would start from February 16."

In the same way, the second international airline that wants to suspend operations from Chandigarh airport to Sharjah, is Air India Express. It wants to temporarily suspend or alter the flight's timings. Air India has already suspended its Chandigarh to Bangkok flights about three months back due to non-viability factor.

Notably, the Punjab and Haryana High Court wants Airport Authority of India to discontinue international flight operations from Chandigarh and it has already asked it to remove the international tag. 
The reason behind this is the lack of infrastructure - mainly the advanced instrument landing system CAT-ILS III, which helps a pilot to land irrespective of the weather conditions or when the visibility drops to 200 meters. 

If the visibility drops down to 1600 meters, in Chandigarh, the flights are not allowed to operate, making it inconvenient to the passengers and flight operators. The court had recently been informed by AAI that CAT-ILS-III would be installed at Chandigarh International airport by March 2019.