Employees plan stir against 'closure' of Hyd, HAL airports

Bangalore, Mar 10 (UNI) The Airport Authority of India (AAI) employees, under the banner of All India Airport Employees Union, will go on an indefinite strike from tomorrow midnight, in protest against the proposed closure of existing airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, following the development of green field airports.

Employees working in 127 airports all over the country are expected to participate in the strike.

''This is a non-cooperation movement against AAI and Union Civil Aviation Ministry,'' Stanley Sampath Kumar, convener of Union's Bangalore unit, said.

According to the agreement between the consortium of developers of the airports and the Civil Aviation Ministry, there would not be any civilian airport within a radius of 150 km from the new ones.

The Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad and HAL Airport here would seize to operate, once the commercial operations begin on March 16 and March 30 respectively from the greenfield airports.

In Bangalore, about 100 employees would strike work from tomorrow.

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