Ministry to take call on Nashik civil flight base

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's (MIDC) proposal for shifting the current civilian airport from Ozhar to the Gandhinagar airbase is gathering dust at the defence ministry since the last nine months.

After two meetings with MIDC, the defence establishment in Pune has reportedly forwarded the proposal to Delhi but without any response from the ministry, said a MIDC official.

"We have held two meetings with the defence establishment at Pune. Now, the ball is in the defence ministry's court," the official said.

Air Deccan which is operating a daily Mumbai-Nashik service is also putting pressure on MIDC to shift the location of the airport, as the Ozhar airbase is proving to be unviable for the airline. Consenting to the long-standing demand by local industrialists, business groups and trade lobbies, MIDC had proposed that the Gandhinagar airbase should be made the hub for Nashik-Mumbai air services instead of Ozhar.

"Only 15 to 18 passengers are using the Nashik-Mumbai air service daily. Operating from Ozhar is not viable for us. Hence, we want to shift the Nashik-Mumbai air service to Gandhinagar. We are also holding discussions with the concerned authorities and the administration for the purpose," an Air Deccan official said.

The airline has started a 48-seater flight between Nashik-Mumbai from Ozhar last year.

The Ozhar airbase is 20 km away from Nashik and it takes an hour to reach there due to heavy traffic on the National Highway No 3. On the contrary, the Gandhinagar airbase is only 6 km away from the city. It is much more convenient for air travellers as city buses, taxis and rickshaws operate frequently on this route, the MIDC official pointed out.

Sources said that MIDC is also ready to spend on infrastructure development at Gandhinagar, including night-landing facility, availability of x-ray machines and sheds to accommodate passengers.

During 1972-1989, the Nashik-Mumbai air service was operated by Indian Airlines, from Gandhinagar airbase.

Thereafter, Vayudoot had taken over the air service, and was operational upto 1992. The state government had again started the Nashik-Mumbai service in April 1997, operated by Span Airlines from Gandhinagar airbase.

But, this service was discontinued in June 1997. After a span of 7 years, the Nashik-Mumbai air service was restarted in March 2005 from the Ozhar airbase.