Chandigarh: Former Union Minister and local M.P. Pawan Kumar Bansal today demanded setting up of a Flying Club at Chandigarh Airport. "Chandigarh needs a modern Flying Club to train youngsters to enable them get decent placements as pilots in expanding aviation sector. The Rs 78 crore airport terminal completed only in 2011 and lying shut since 2015 and other existing in fractural facilities can be best used for this purpose" Bansal said in a statement.

          In a letter to the Prime Minister on February 6, 2018 Bansal, while requesting for a direct connectivity between Chandigarh and terminal at Mohali through a short tunnel under the runway had rued that the modern terminal building at Chandigarh was lying shut since 2015. Yesterday, Civil Aviation Minister, Sh. P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju had inaugurated skill development Programme at the Chandigarh airport. Bansal said that this would be meaningful only with the setting up of a Flying Club at Chandigarh Airport which could cater to high skill development in all related areas.

          Bansal also demanded the naming of Chandigarh airport as "Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport Chandigarh". He said that this is long overdue and the government should do it immediately, particularly when the Aviation Minister also has said that all controversy in this regard is unnecessary.