Mangalore, October 31: Mangalore Airport belongs to the people of Mangalore and now it is up to them and everyone connected to it, to see to it that no more room for misapprehensions regarding it given, M R Vasudeva, Outgoing Director, Mangalore International Airport, said.
He was speaking at a farewell programme organized by Airport employees at the old airport premises in Bajpe on Wednesday.
Recalling that the airport was in no way connected to the infamous air crash, Mr. Vasudeva said that unnecessary hue and cry was made about the incident. “Just five hours later we could commission the runway. Flights landed there immediately after. There was no ghost and nothing was wrong. Please make sure that you do not allow these misapprehensions and any wrong notions about the airport in the future”, he said.
Mr. Vasudeva said that it was able for him to transform a small airport at Bajpe to an international airport with the support of his seniors in Airport Authority of India (AAI) and also the different strata of people and local populace. “With the cooperation of locals, prepaid taxi services began in 1996 when the concept was not there in Mangalore at all”, he recalled.
He said that by handling a weight of 1,50,000 kgs of the Airbus aircraft, the airport has proved that it is capable of handling heavy aircrafts. Mr. Vasudeva also said that his successor GT Radhakrishnan was also a part of the new terminal building project and expressed happiness about AAI appointing a man familiar with Mangalore Airport to take charge as the next Director.
D Davaraj, Regional Executive Director, AAI, said that Mr. Vasudeva was able to get the new airport terminal operational within a month of his transfer. The Airport has now been ugraded to international standards and the air cargo complex is likely to be commissioned by next month, he said.
Mr. Vasudeva and his wife Nagarathna Rao were felicitated by Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari, on the occasion.
Related: 'My heart sank on the day of air crash'–Interview with MR Vasudeva
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