The Chandigarh International Airport has been renamed ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport’ by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, unveiled the plaque in Mohali and paid tribute to the national icon on his 115th birthday.
The event was also attended by Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya, Punjab Chief Minister
Bhagwant Mann, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Dr VK Singh.
Rename airport after the freedom fighter
According to Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, both Punjab and Haryana went above and beyond to rename the airport after the freedom fighter.
Chautala proposed installing a bust of Shaheed Bhagat Singh here before Martyrdom Day on March 23.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry for permission to increase international flights from the airport.
The renaming puts an end to the long-pending demand to include Mohali, Chandigarh, and Panchkula in the nomenclature.
PM Modi announced in his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast that the Chandigarh airport would be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter.
Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is a joint venture company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in association
with governments of Punjab and Haryana.
The airport runway is in Chandigarh while the international terminal is located on the south side of the runway in the village of Jhiurheri in Mohali.
The AAI has a 51% share in the project. Punjab and Haryana have contributed 24.5% each.
