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Move to examine feasibility of airport expansion welcomed

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By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, March 25: Officials of the Umroi Airport have welcomed the state government’s move to examine the feasibility of expanding the airport which is slowly but steadily being connected with more towns and cities.
Recently, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma stated the state government is keen on developing and expanding the Umroi Airport rather than constructing a new one. He said investing capital in the existing airport would be comparatively cost-effective.
Officials of the airport said it would be a “good move” to use the existing infrastructure and further build on it.
“It would take 7-8 years and huge funds to fully develop a new airport, whereas the infrastructure at the existing airport can be developed within two years with a much lesser budget,” one of the officials said.
The airport is set to get a facelift in view of the upcoming G20 meeting in Shillong. The AAI and the state government want that the delegates land at the Umroi Airport instead of Guwahati Airport.
A visit to Umroi Airport revealed issues with the toilets have been fixed and Airport Authority of India (AAI) staff are doing their work diligently in guiding and assisting passengers. However, the airport still has the issue of cancellation of flights.
Also, passengers want more reliable services at the airport.
On Friday, the SpiceJet flight between Delhi and Shillong was cancelled at the eleventh hour due to technical reasons and people faced a lot of problems.
Commuting to and from the airport is then another problem. There are no shuttle bus or dedicated taxi services between the airport and Shillong. Some local taxi associations are providing the services but at a high cost.
Tourist vehicles ferrying passengers from Shillong to the airport charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 when the flight fare to many destinations is only Rs 1,500.
The AAI has reportedly written to the state government on the matter but the latter is yet to resolve it.

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