BJP MP meets with Eastern Naval chief to discuss Vizag airport runway closure

Visakhapatnam:  BJP Rajya Sabha member  G.V.L. Narasimha Rao met with Eastern Naval Command Chief Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar on Monday to discuss the night closure of the Visakhapatnam airport runway for resurfacing activities.

Rao urged Vice Admiral Pendharkar to reduce the hours of closure, which are currently from 9 pm to 8 am for four months. He argued that this would allow more flights to operate during the day and reduce the inconvenience to passengers.

However, Vice Admiral Pendharkar informed Rao that the hours of closure are absolutely essential for surfacing and curing the runway on a daily basis. He explained that reducing this time would not be feasible or advisable, given the consideration of passenger safety.

Rao also met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and defence secretary Giridhar Aramane a month ago to seek a shortening of the Visakhapatnam airport runway closure period. However, he was unable to obtain any concessions.