The grandiose announcement made by the Telangana government to explore the possibility of having a second commercial airport at Air Force Station, Hakimpet, in hybrid mode may not be that easy going by the issues connected with using defence airports for civilian aircraft operations.
The State Cabinet meeting held on Monday approved the proposal to have second commercial airport at Hakimpet. At present, all commercial, international, and domestic operations are carried out from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad under the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL). The Begumpet Airport in the heart of the city ceased commercial operations consequent to the inauguration of the RGIA.
According to the Municipal Administration and Information Technology Minister K. T. Rama Rao plans are afoot to use Hakimpet as a hybrid airport to ease the congestion at RGIA which sees a footfall of 2.50 crore passengers annually. “We will write to the Centre to consider the proposal,” he said.
