Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday sought inclusion of Chandigarh in the list of cities notified for the operation of airlines of ASEAN countries under the Government of India's Open Sky Policy.

In a demi-official letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Singh has stated that the International Civil Terminal at SAS Nagar (Mohali) had been functioning for the last three years and was now set to launch round the clock operations for wide-bodied aircraft with upgraded Code 4E status starting April 1, 2019.

"The airport caters not only to the population of the Tri-City of Chandigarh but also to international passenger traffic from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and even parts of Uttarakhand. The State Government would take all possible steps to support the growth of civil aviation and to harness its benefit for the overall development of the region", read the letter by the Chief Minister.

Punjab Chief Minister also outlined that at present, the airport is unable to operate direct flights to international destinations in ASEAN countries, such as Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

"As a result, passengers from this region have to travel to New Delhi for taking flights to such countries, which is not only time consuming but also causes hardship in the form of extra travel by road," Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said.

Stating that at present, Chandigarh does not feature in the 18 cities notified by the Government of India under the open sky policy for ASEAN countries, Singh wrote, "Pursuant to its scheduled upgradation to Code 4E, it becomes eligible for notification under the Open Sky Policy."

Under the Open Sky Policy of the Government of India for ASEAN countries, 18 cities have been notified for operation of airlines in the country. At present, Chandigarh does not feature in these 18 cities notified by the Government of India. Pursuant to its scheduled upgradation to Code 4E, it becomes eligible for notification under the Open Sky Policy.

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