Walton Airport may give way to business hub

Punjab government is considering a proposal to demolish the 103-year-old historic Walton Airport and replace it with a business hub. According to sources, a high-level committee has begun work on the plan.

Walton Airport was established in 1918 and was the base camp of the British army in World War II. The airport spread over more than 1,200 kanals is located at the confluence of Gulberg, Model Town and Ferozepur Road in Lahore, along with a small forest of about 9,000 trees.

The forest produces oxygen for millions of residents of the Gulberg, Ferozepur Road and Model Town localities, providing clean air to the population, making the area more attractive than other parts of the city and keeping pollution in check.

At least seven nurseries in the area sell a variety of fruit and flower plants. A large number of people earning their livelihood from the nurseries will be affected along with the customers if they are closed down under the plan. It is unclear whether the nurseries will be shifted to alternative places.

It is also feared that the forest spread over about 20 acres may be lost during the development of the business district.

If the airport is shut down, the move will also affect the more than 200 students who are training as pilots and attending various courses there.

The Lahore Flying Club at Walton Airport also has a historic status. Many leaders of the subcontinent, including the Quaid-i-Azam and officers of the British government had used the airport.

The airport is also used by important personalities in emergency situations.

The owner of a nursery on the north side of the airport said he had worked day and night after renting the place from the Civil Aviation Authority. After establishing the nursery, he planted saplings which have grown into trees.

He said that while the government is running a tree planting campaign, on the other hand it appears set to cut down thousands of tree for the business hub.

A local resident said there were dozens of plazas on Gulberg and Ferozepur roads that were vacant. If the government wants to create a place for business, there are many other locations in Lahore that suit the purpose, he added.

On the other hand, Civil Aviation Authority sources said that if the airport is closed, flights of seven flying clubs based there will also have to be cancelled and the companies may shift to Faisalabad and Sialkot. They said the flight training companies had agreements with several universities in Lahore. “Hundreds of students are studying under these agreements. How will they go to Sialkot or Faisalabad?”

An official of the Lahore Flying Club said thousands of Pakistani and Indian pilots as well as a number of foreigners had been trained at the airport. Hundreds of people are currently receiving training in aviation. Their annual fee is in hundreds of thousands of rupees, he said. When contacted, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said consultations were under way and nothing had been finalised yet. “There is still a lot of work to be done. Therefore, it would be premature to say anything in this regard.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2021.