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Hyderabad: There has been a delay in the launch of commercial operations from the new airport in Hyderabad city which was formally inaugurated on Friday.
The launch of the operations from the airport in Shamshabad, about 30km from the city, which would mean closing down the facility at Begumpet, will take another week.
The new airport had been expected to begin operations from today.
The new date for starting the operations is yet to be announced but sources in GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) said that the facility would commence operations "next week".
The airport staff all over the country had struck work recently opposing the winding down of airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore. They withdraw the action after meeting with the federal minister.
As the new airport is ready in all respects the developers fear that a delay could result in huge losses for them.
"The delay of each day will result in losses because all contracts have been awarded and various service providers are ready. The delay is not going to be beyond eight days," said sources in the joint venture.
All respects
GMR issued a statement late on Friday: "The international airport was ready in all respects but some airlines approached the ministry seeking more time to begin operations from Shamshabad. Acceding to their request, the ministry has advised us to begin operations in a few days."
According to sources, only the state-owned Indian airline approached the ministry seeking six months' time to shift their operations from Begumpet. The ministry agreed to delay the opening only by a few days. All other airlines are ready to shift their operations.
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