Civilian flights set to foray into Hindon Air Force base soon

The government on Wednesday said that the Hindon Air Force base in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district will be ready to host scheduled civilian flight operations by March. According to a senior official, the Civil Enclave at the Air Force Station will be used to connect regional destinations to the national Capital.

A Civil Enclave is an area allotted at an airport belonging to the armed forces for providing civilian air transport services. "Infrastructure work for the civil enclave will be completed by February-end and the enclave will be ready to host civilian flights by March first week," a senior official from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defence agreed to provide the Air Force base for flight operations under the second round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme -- Udan -- (RCS-Udan). The Hindon Air Force Station is located around 30 km away from downtown New Delhi and is spread over an area of over 55 sq km, making it one of the largest air bases in Asia. It is operated under the Western Air Command.