Traders Want Flights From Hyderabad
HYDERABAD, July 28: Criticising the decision to postpone schedule of flights from Hydera-bad airport, the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the prime minister, president, speaker National Assembly and federal finance minister to intervene in the matter and ensure that the flight schedule announced earlier is not violated.
At a news conference at the chamber’s secretariat here on Monday, the president of the chamber, Haji Mohammad Yaqoob, said that the fundamental purpose of the construction of Hyderabad Airport was to provide air travel facilities to the people of interior Sindh including Mirpurkhas, Hala, Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin, Tando Allahyar, Tando Adam, Kotri and Dadu which have a population of 25 million.
He argued that two big industrial estates in Kotri and Hyderabad had more than 2,000 big and small industrial units which were performing a positive role in the development of country’s economy.
Textile, engineering, cement, glass and other industrial products were being exported from Hyderabad region to foreign countries, the chamber president said and added that the traders and the industrialists were contributing Rs19 billion revenue per annum to the national exchequer in the shape of sales tax and federal excise duty.
The agriculture sector of the region was also very rich and rice, pulses, vegetables and fruits were also being exported and a handsome amount of foreign exchange was being earned for the country, Mr Yaqoob said.
The people of interior Sindh have every right to demand the re-introduction of air service from Hyderabad, he said and added that the former prime minister during his visit to Hyderabad had also issued instructions to the concerned authorities to make the Hyderabad Airport operational.
He said the director of the Civil Aviation Authority, Mohammad Jehangir Khan, had also told the chamber’s delegation as far back as 2006 that the airport was ready for C-130 and Fokker flights but its runway required extension for the landing of big planes.
He said the director had further said that Hyderabad was the only airport amongst small airports of the country where even night flight operation facilities were also available.
It was due to the combined efforts, the chamber president said, that the PIA had issued the flight schedule to start air service from Hyderabad Airport with effect from August 3, 2008. He, however, regretted that once again, red-tapism was trying to sabotage the air service on the flimsy argument that the runway was unfit.
The decision has created a lot of resentment and disappointment not only among the business communities of interior Sindh but also the people at large, the chamber president said and added “we refuse to accept the argument that the runway was not fitâ€ÂÂ.
He said that there are four big universities and research centres in Hyderabad region and air flight was very necessary for them as well as for the development of economy. He pointed out that the people, who travel by rail service from Hyderabad to Quetta, Peshawar and Rawal-pindi and other cities were paying railway fare Rs2.5 million per annum and spend no less than Rs6 million per month on air travels.
Source: DAWN
Red Tape Delays Flight Operations At Hyderabad Airport
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By Adeel Pathan
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad airport that has been closed for the past eight years is not being opened despite the issuance of a flight schedule by the national carrier because of red-tapism and change of stance of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The CAA had agreed to resume flight operations from the airport of the second most important city of Sindh after Karachi in May 2006, but is presently showing reluctance to start flights owing to problems related to the runway of the airport.
The business community of Hyderabad has condemned the decision of the authorities without naming CAA, adding that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has issued the flight schedule for August 3, but the officials of PIA have been informed that the opening has been delayed.
A meeting of representatives of Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) with the director of Civil Aviation Training Institute (CATI) on 16th May, 2007 was informed that the CAA had not closed the airport, but scaled it down in April 2001 due to termination of flights by the national carrier from the Hyderabad airport.
A copy of the minutes of the meeting issued by CATI shows that the director informed the meeting two years back that it may be well noted that huge financial expenses are involved in maintaining and managing a closed-of scaled down airport.
“Thus it is imperative that HCCI should approach the national airlines with cogent data of passengers and cargo generated at Hyderabad, to make the proposition viable. Once the airlines are willing to operate flights to/from Hyderabad airport, CAA can activate the airport again,†he stated in the meeting as per minutes.
However, two years passed and the HCCI office bearers and District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jameel continued their efforts for reopening of the airport and got directives from the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to resume the flights.
After the Pakistan Peoples Party government took over the affairs of the country, once again the process was accelerated and the authorities and national carrier issued the flight schedule from Hyderabad airport and District Nazim announced that flights would be resumed on 3rd August 2008.
The HCCI even booked the first flight from Hyderabad to show that Hyderabad is viable for flights and would give good business to the national carrier. However, their hopes were shattered when CAA said that the runway is going to be improved, therefore operations could not be resumed on 3rd August 2008.
The HCCI president Haji Yaqoob told a news conference at the chamber secretariat on Monday that Hyderabad is a potential district for the passengers and airlines would have a profitable business once the flights operation resumes from the city, which also caters to the needs of other adjoining districts and especially two industrial areas.
He said that the CATI director had informed that the airport runway is sufficient for small planes, while it needs to be expanded for big planes and this airport is the only one among smaller airports that has the facility of night flight operations.
“However, red-tapism once again hatched conspiracy to keep Hyderabad on a downtrend andthe flight operations have been delayed for an indefinite period, owing to the excuse of the non operational runway,†the HCCI president remarked.
He said that this decision of delaying flight resumption has created resentment and hopelessness amongst the people of Hyderabad, who have been denied of the modern day facility of air travels to and from Hyderabad. He also added that foreign investment is impossible for Hyderabad in the absence of an operational airport.
He noted that Rs6 million worth of tickets are being booked from the passengers of Hyderabad per annum, who are traveling from Karachi because of the closed airport. He called upon the Prime Minister and other quarters concerned especially the speaker national assembly and finance minister to make their efforts for resuming the flights as per schedule on 3rd August. Otherwise, HCCI would devise further course of strategy of protest. He said that a PIA local official informed him about the withdrawal of the flight schedule, but termed the decisions as injustice with the people of Hyderabad and other close by districts.
“It is not clear why bureaucracy is creating these hurdles because when flight operations would resume from Hyderabad it will bring profit and revenue for the government,†he wondered. The airport is handling VIP flights on a regular basis but is closed for domestic flights since the last eight years and the District Nazim also criticised the decision of a change in schedule of flight resumption.
The HCCI representatives said that they have also condemned the statement of the defence minister in the national assembly that there is no plan for opening the Hyderabad airport. “It is not clear why the government is taking one decision and withdrawing the other as in this case, because PIA issued the schedule and now it is CAA which is showing reluctance. The same happened in 2006 when CAA agreed but the national carrier was not ready to resume,†a member of the HCCI told The News on Monday.
Source: The News
