The deadlock over the extension of flying hours at Visakhapatnam airport could hopefully be resolved. The secretary of defence ministry has responded positively to the requests made by chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on environment and forests, science and technology, T Subbarami Reddy and infrastructure minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao.

The secretary of defence ministry is expected to hold a meeting with senior officials of the Navy in Delhi on August 9 to discuss the contentious issue of allowing the Vizag airport to operate 24 hours.

The extension of watch hour has been in discussion since Silk Air had asked for a permission to land its flight at 11 pm at the airport. The service to Singapore from the port city would start only if the flying hours were extended at least by another four hours. As of now the airport, which is under the control of Navy, functions from 8 am to 8 pm.