Umroi airport: SC to hear plea against HC's order

Indigo airlines on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging a Meghalaya High Court direction to all commercial operators and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to urgently take a decision to start flights from Umroi airport, 30 km from capital Shillong.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi agreed to hear the petition on Thursday after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi contended the high court had suo motu taken up the matter and asked the Director General of Civil Aviation, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India Chairman to hold a meeting within a week on the issue of making the airport operational.

The counsel, along with other advocates from different airlines, further submitted before a bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, that the airport was not ready for the landing of big aircraft and does not have fire-fighting facilities.

The high court on December 7 had directed that the exercise for taking decision to make operational the airport has to be completed within seven days and had posted the matter for further hearing on December 14.