Dehradun, Aug 3 (PTI) The Naini Saini Airport in Pithoragarh will be operated and managed by the Airports Authority of India.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard between the Uttarakhand government and the AAI in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, an official release issued here said.

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The chief minister had earlier requested Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to hand over the maintenance and management of the Naini Saini airport to the AAI in view of its strategic importance.

It was being managed earlier by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority.

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The MoU signed on Thursday was part of the hand-over process.

Speaking on the occasion, Dhami said he hoped the AAI will speed up flight operations from the airport.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)