Srinagar airport closed for repairs

SRINAGAR - The Srinagar international airport was Friday closed for a fortnight for runway repairs, but officials said that air link to the Kashmir Valley will not be snapped.

As an alternate arrangement, all commercial flights would be operated from south Kashmir’s Awantipora base of the Indian Air Force (IAF), 25 km from here.

All private airlines have been told to operate only one flight per day to and from Srinagar.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier told the defence ministry that the airport closure would cause inconvenience to air passengers to and from the valley, especially with the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr coming Sep 11.

The IAF authorities, who manage the runaway at Srinagar airport, had said that it was necessary repair the runaway before the winter and a further fall in the day temperatures.

All passengers travelling from the Kashmir Valley have been advised to reach the Srinagar airport three hours before the scheduled departure time.

“The security checks of the passengers’ luggage would be carried out at the Srinagar airport itself after which the passengers would be taken to the Awantipora in security buses with closed doors,” a senior police officer told IANS.

“No passenger would be permitted to get off the security bus en route to the air base and no passenger can drive to the base on his own. These are security precautions we have to take for passengers’ safety,” he added.

National carrier Air India has decided to operate its flights to and from Srinagar during this period on a selective basis, mostly around the Eid festival.