While Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Haryana’s first official airport in Hisar on Monday, the occasion brought mixed emotions for Karnal. The city, home to one of the oldest aviation clubs in the region, continues to wait for its long-promised upgrade into a domestic airport.
Since 1967, Karnal has hosted the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation, training countless pilots. Despite its legacy and strategic location along NH-44, with easy access to Delhi and Chandigarh, the city’s aspirations for an airport remain unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, construction of a new airport in Ambala Cantt — just 70 km away — is nearing completion. This has triggered frustration among Karnal’s residents, who feel sidelined despite the city’s potential.
“It should not just be developed as a domestic airport but can also be upgraded into a cargo and aircraft maintenance hub, as it has the oldest aviation club in the region,” said Col Manbeer Choudhary (retd), president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Haryana and former president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India.
He emphasised that Karnal’s airport could serve nearby Panipat — one of India’s top exporters — and Kurukshetra, a key religious tourism hub, thus boosting both trade and tourism.
The dream of converting Karnal’s airstrip into a full-fledged airport dates back to 2012 when the Congress-led state government first floated the idea. After the BJP came to power in 2014, then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar rekindled hopes by announcing the upgrade of the Civil Aviation Club into a domestic airport on November 8 that year.
However, progress was limited to renovation and runway expansion. In 2021, the High Powered Purchase Committee, chaired by the CM, approved further plans for development. Yet, substantial ground activity remains minimal. A visit by then Civil Aviation Minister Dr Kamal Gupta in June 2024 raised public hope again with a renewed promise, but since then, only a boundary wall has come up.
Authorities state that the area of the facility has expanded from 107 to 171 acres, and the runway is being extended from 3,000 to 5,000 feet to accommodate small and medium-sized aircraft.
Congress MP Deepender Hooda criticised the lack of action, reminding that the Congress had announced upgrades for both Hisar and Karnal airstrips in 2012. “No work has been done on the Karnal airport in the past 11 years during the BJP regime,” he alleged.
Responding to the criticism, Union Power Minister and former CM Khattar recently said land acquisition is complete and further expansion is in the pipeline, though more land is still needed.
Political analysts attribute the delay to shifting political priorities. Hisar, which gained prominence during the BJP-JJP coalition (2019–2024), benefited from the influence of JJP leader and former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, who strongly advocated for the Hisar airport.
“Despite being a CM city for 10 years, Karnal deserved better treatment,” said Dr Ramji Lal, former Principal of Dyal Singh College. “The domestic airport should have been constructed here earlier. This shows that Karnal has always been secondary for all political parties.”
He noted that the city’s relatively low political activism might be a factor. “The people of Karnal are not as politically aware or vocal as those in other CM cities,” he added.
For now, Karnal continues to wait on the runway, hoping its turn will finally come.
