Chandigarh Airport operated all its civil and commercial operations from the civil enclave of the Indian Air Force Station. Indian Airlines started operating flights from Chandigarh to Delhi in the 1970s. A new airport building was constructed in the civil enclave and was opened on 14 April 2011. This air terminal was declared a customs airport on 19 August 2011, making it eligible for a limited number of international flights, but no international flight ever operated from this terminal. In 2008, the Government of Punjab acquired 304.04 acres of land on the south side of the existing runway in Jhiurheri village at a cost of ?452 crore (equivalent to ?13 billion or US$130 million in 2023) to build the new terminal, which was completed in 2015 at a cost of ?939 crore (equivalent to ?14 billion or US$150 million in 2023). The Government of Punjab through GMADA and the Government of Haryana through HUDA each have a 24.5% stake and the Airports Authority of India holds the rest, a 51% stake in CHIAL the operator of the airport. On 24 December 2015, the Mohali Industries Association filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for non-operation of international flights after spending ?1,400 crore (equivalent to ?21 billion or US$220 million in 2023) on the airport. After numerous hearings at Punjab and Haryana High Court and a long wait, IndiGo and Air India Express commenced flights to Dubai and Sharjah respectively in September 2016.