SC moved against plan to acquire Walton Aerodrome land

LAHORE: The Lahore Flying Club (LFC) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court through lawyer Irfan Qadir, former attorney general of Pakistan, against the Punjab government and LDA for their plan to acquire the land of Walton Aerodrome.
LFC spokesman Captain Khalid has said the Punjab government has made a project through which it is planning to acquire the whole land of Walton Aerodrome Lahore to construct a commercial zone on it. He said if this project is implemented, Walton Aerodrome will be closed down and flying clubs including LFC, which are providing flying training to students, will also be closed. Capt Khalid said the Walton Aerodrome was 93 years old flying training institution and playing a unique role for promotion of civil aviation in the country, but the Punjab government wanted to close it just to earn money from its land which had become more precious now. He said it had never happened in the world that an old educational institution was

demolished for money making purpose. This decision would destroy the whole setup of civil aviation in Pakistan and would cause decline to it. “It will hamper the business of flying clubs and bring huge financial losses to them. On the other hand it will discourage the students to come to the aviation sector, he added.
He said the LFC was the oldest flying club of northern India as it was established in 1930 on this airport since then it trained thousands of pilots. They served the nation and became a source of foreign exchange earning by serving a good number of foreign airlines, he said. He said Prince Hasan Bin Tallal, former king of Jordan, completed his flying training as a pilot from this club. “The LFC and other flying clubs here produce 60 per cent pilots in Pakistan. Walton is hub of flying training and it offers outstanding facilities to pilots that no other airport offers in Pakistan, therefore, it is known as flying training university for the students,” the LFC spokesman said.
He added apart from training activities, it was also being used for VIP flights of Punjab CM, PM and the other dignitaries of the country. Charter flights are also operated from here, he said, adding an aircraft manufacturing industry was established here.
Referring to Walton’s historical aspect, Capt Khalid explained that it was a part of Pakistan Movement and a great heritage of the nation as it had honour that Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had been using it.
“He came over here many times. Further the biggest refugee camp was established here in September 1947 to receive refugees migrating from India. This airport was converted into camp for this purpose and it served them for many years. We have requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to save Walton Aerodrome as it is our national heritage and still serving the country in many respects. Its existence is necessary for the promotion of civil aviation in Pakistan and to keep the history of Pakistan movement intact,” Capt Khalid concluded.