HC takes suo-motu note of Nagpur airport’s daily closure of 8 hours

MUMBAI: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court has issued notices to the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Department of Civil Aviation, Maharashtra, after taking suo-motu note of news reports highlighting operations at the Nagpur airport being shut every day for around eight hours since March 2023.
A division bench comprising justice Nitin Sambre and justice Abhay Mantri said that since March 2024 hardly any repairing work was done, but “due to closure of the Airport, travellers from Central India were facing hardship and inconvenience,” observed the high court. The bench also stated the importance of the airport’s location: “Considering the geographical location of Nagpur City, being the centre of the country, the operation of the Airport is for the convenience of the people residing in Central India,” it stated.
The court has additionally ordered notices to be served to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company, the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur and the Station Manager, Nagpur Airport as respondents. The respondents have been instructed to submit their affidavits by August 14.
The court appointed advocate Kartik Shukul to assist it in framing a petition and adjudicating the matter.