The Indian Navy has agreed to withdraw the restrictions on civilian flights, proposed to be implemented with effect from November 1, 2018, permanently.
An assurance to this effect was given by Vice Admiral M.S. Powar, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command (ENC), to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the airport, here, on Friday evening.
It may be recalled that the Navy had initially proposed to impose restrictions on civil flights for five hours a day to facilitate dedicated military slots for its training and operational requirements. The move led to an uproar from air travellers’ associations, the general public and people’s representatives and the Navy announced that it would reduce the proposed restrictions to three hours a day.
The proposal has already led to the cancellation of a few flights by various airline operators.
The Chief Minister had held a meeting with ENC officials a few weeks ago, seeking withdrawal of the proposal as it would severely impact the growth of the city. He had asked them not to take a final decision till he held another meeting with them.
Mr. Naidu held a meeting with Navy officials on Friday evening. Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu, District Collector Pravin Kumar, MLA PGVR Naidu, Airport Director G. Prakash Reddy, representatives of AP Air Travellers Association (APATA) O. Naresh Kumar and D.S. Varma were among those who were present at the meeting.
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