Chandigarh, July 9 - Hoping to put Chandigarh on the international flight map, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has written to Defence Minister A.K. Antony for his intervention in getting Indian Air Force (IAF) authorities to permit Fly Dubai to begin operations.

Fly Dubai, a low-cost carrier of Emirates Airlines, was expected to begin flying from this union territory to Dubai this month. However, air force authorities denied it permission because of restricted Air Traffic Control (ATC) hours.

Badal has asked the defence ministry to direct air force authorities to extend the ATC watch hours from 8 p.m. till 1 a.m.

In his letter to Antony Wednesday, Badal said the ministry of civil aviation had already granted approval to commence international flights from Chandigarh airport.