Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke said on Friday that flight operations will resume at 8 am on Saturday as the Air Force authorities have conveyed that the runway will be made available for civil operations.
The airport had shut down for operations for 14 days, starting from October 16, as the Air Force had decided to undertake runway resurfacing work. Several airlines, which had already made passenger bookings for the period, had to cancel the flights and reschedule or reimburse the flyers after the announcement was made by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on October 5.
According to AAI officials, a total of 108 flight movements have been scheduled on Saturday, of which 56 are arrivals and 52 scheduled departures.
Officials have advised passengers to reach the terminal two to three hours prior to the scheduled departure. “It’s festival season and the airport is reopening after a break of 14 days. We are expecting a rush for the next few days and hence we are advising passengers to reach the airport two to three hours prior to the scheduled time of departure,” Dhoke said.
He said the embargo on night flights (8 pm to 8 am) will continue for a while as the work being undertaken by the Air Force is not yet over. “We have been informed that the work is progressing on schedule. I am hoping that night slots will be opened for civil flights by December 1,”
