CHANDIGARH - Hoping to put Chandigarh on the international flight map, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has written to Defence Minister A.K. Antony for his intervention in getting Indian Air Force (IAF) authorities to permit Fly Dubai to begin operations.

Fly Dubai, a low-cost carrier of Emirates Airlines, was expected to begin flying from this union territory to Dubai this month. However, air force authorities denied it permission because of restricted Air Traffic Control (ATC) hours.

Badal has asked the defence ministry to direct air force authorities to extend the ATC watch hours from 8 p.m. till 1 a.m.

In his letter to Antony Wednesday, Badal said the ministry of civil aviation had already granted approval to commence international flights from Chandigarh airport.

He told reporters here Thursday: The Fly Dubai airline intends to start international operations from Chandigarh airport from the third week of July 2009. But they have been denied permission by the Indian Air Force authorities…”

He added that the reason for the denial was the ATC watch hours till 8 p.m. “irrespective of the sunset timings”. The Fly Dubai flight would land at 11.30 p.m. and leave an hour later at 12.30 a.m., the chief minister said.

The ministry of external affairs had acknowledged the same to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates. The extension of ATC hours would fulfil the long pending demand of the state to start international flights from Chandigarh, Badal said.