Aviation: Live in Delhi-NCR? Come February, you can fly from this new airport

Travellers in Delhi and NCR region can soon fly from an airport that is not Delhi airport, IGI airport and no, it is not even the upcoming Jewar airport. And no, they are not reviving the good old Safdarjung airport! No, what is all set to happen is that passengers can take flight from the Hindon Airbase! Soon! Air travellers in the Delhi-NCR region will really be benefited with this development. Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has zeroed in on a land tract at Sikandarpur village near Indian Air Force's Hindon air base in Ghaziabad, to develop it as a second commercial airport to tackle the problem of congestion at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to The Times of India report.

According to the report, the ministry has already got a nod from the Air Force to use the air base for civilian flights as part of the government's regional connectivity scheme (RCS), popularly known as UDAN (Ude desh ka aam nagrik). The civilian flights would use the existing runway, while a separate gate and a seating area would be developed under the new plan, said the report. According to AAI, the first set of flights from Hindon, under UDAN-II RCS scheme, will include the routes such as Lucknow-Hindon-Kolkata-Jorhat; Hindon-Bhopal-Ozar (Nashik); HindonJaisalmer-Udaipur; Hindon-Gorakhpur-Allahabad; Hindon-Allahabad-Kolkata; Hindon-Kannur; Ozar (Nashik)-Hindon and Tirupati-Hubli-Hindon. Most of these new flights will be operated low cost carriers including IndiGo Airlines, SpiceJet, Air India and Air Deccan besides couple of small and new players.
  
The ministry has reportedly chalked out a plan to launch civilian flight operations from the IAF base to provide a second airport for commercial flights as soon as the base is ready for civilian flights. This will also lessen the load on the IGIA till the Jewar international airport in Greater Noida becomes operational. Notably, Hindon air base currently houses IAF's heavy lift transport aircraft Globemaster - it is one of the biggest airplanes in the world.
 
The Hindon air base is located about 10 kms from Delhi Metro's Dilshad Garden station in East Delhi, therefore, it would not be difficult for passengers to reach the place. 
 
The report quoting AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra stated that the development work for Hindon civil enclave will be completed by mid-February in 2019. 
 
Since IGI does not have any free slots, it is not able to accommodate new RCS flights. Hindon will be able to handle these flights till the IGI airport’s expansion work of the fourth runway and a bigger Terminal 1 is completed in three to four years, Mohapatra reportedly said.
 
AAI is constructing a civil terminal at Hindon station in an area of 3,500 square metres at a cost of Rs 45.2 crore. The terminal will have a peak capacity for handling 300 passengers per hour (150 departing and as many arriving), besides having facilities like check-in concourse, security hold area, baggage handling system and commercial outlets.
 
The Air Traffic Control (ATC) for the regional flights here will reportedly be provided by the IAF ATC at Hindon.