Summary:
“This civilian airport is operating in Belagavi since 1944. “Air connectivity to this fast-growing city to many destinations is a must for all round growth of industries, commerce, tourism, education, health services and export. If Belagavi airport is not considered under Udaan, the city’s growth will take a huge blow and will backtrack 20 years on the road to progress,” the Forum said.According to the memorandum, the British rulers chose Belagavi to establish the offices of a collectorate, commissionerate, Cantonment Board, the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre and the Air Force Training Centre at Sambra (about 11 km from the city). Belagavi: As the list of airports under the third phase of the Udaan scheme is being finalised by the aviation ministry and is likely to be declared on October 31, the Professionals Forum , Belagavi led by its secretary Rajendra Mundada submitted a memorandum to civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu through the deputy commissioner here on Monday.The memorandum states that by all considerations like load factor, aircraft parking space, passenger handling capacity and customer satisfaction index, the Sambra Airport stands first and thus is highly meritorious for selection under Udaan. The foundry industry here is famous for its precision and quality coupled with hydraulic machinery producing besides 23 sugar mills, aircraft spare parts manufacturing Aequs Aero Space SEZ etc., are contributing considerably to foreign exchange and employment potential,” the memorandum said.The Airport Authority of India (AAI) upgraded the airport for big aircraft last year considering its future growth, the forum has stated.Other points1) Sambra Airport is now categorised as under served in terms of customer handling capacity, load factor, parking space (it has parking space for three air buses), customer satisfaction, ATC, etc.2) Airlines are eager to start operations from Sambra under Udaan as operations are found to be commercially viable.3) Air connectivity to two-tier cities from Belagavi is needed for growth of industries, commerce, tourism, hotels, education, health and exports in this region.