On 14 March 2008, UPA Chairperson,
Ms.Sonia Gandhi inaugurated GMR Hyderabad International Airport's Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport at Shamshabad, but the commercial operations has been
delayed by a few days, because of operational reasons.
Commercial operations at the
greenfield airport were originally scheduled to begin from zero hours (12.01
a.m.) on 16 March 2008. The new date for commercial operations will be notified
by the Union civil aviation ministry soon.
It is learnt that, the reason for
delay have also been regarding the issues in terms of clearances from the DG of
Civil Aviation. Among various reasons, the DGCA has found fault with the
presence of a drain near the end of the runway. Also, the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN specialised agency focusing on the safety in
civil aviation, is yet to submit its report on the drain. Based on this, the
DGCA has granted only a provisional clearance to the airport while a final
clearance is still awaited.
Also See:
Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport to be inaugurated today (14-Mar-08)