By IANS
Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir will have its first international airport in Srinagar by May 31, and flights will start operating to the Middle East from June this year.
The airport will have an integrated terminal building for domestic and international passengers. The total cost of the project is Rs.1.01 billion, according to Airport Authority of India (AAI) Chairman K. Ramalingam. He visited Leh, Srinagar, Kargil and Jammu Thursday.
The new-look airport will have two aero bridges initially and the number would be increased subsequently. The terminal building will handle 500 domestic and 450 international passengers at a given point. It will be the first airport in the country to have inline baggage X-ray system. The terminal building comprises six sections and is spread over 200,000 sq ft.
Ramalingam and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad visited Kargil and decided to set up a civilian airport there. Kargil only has an airport of the Indian Air Force.
The people in Kargil have been asking for a civil airport as the area, located near the border, remains cut off from the rest of the country during winters.
The Kargil airport is in for runway extension from the present 6,000 ft to 7,500 ft. The possibility of starting a 19-seater civil aircraft service to Kargil was under active consideration, officials said.