New Delhi, July 02, 2024: Tiruchi Lok Sabha MP Durai Vaiko has appealed to Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to designate Tiruchi as a ‘Point of Call’ under the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA), to pave the way for the operation of flights for additional international destinations, especially those in West Asia.
In a memorandum submitted to the Minister, Mr. Durai said Tiruchi was the 11th busiest international airport in the country. Air India Express and Indigo were the Indian designated carriers providing international services. But there has been no increase in the frequency of flights, he claimed, as Tiruchi was not approved of as a ‘Point of Call’ for any of the Gulf countries at present.
“Based on the BASA between India and the Gulf countries more than 2,60,000 weekly seats were used by air carriers representing Gulf countries in 16 Indian airports excluding Tiruchi,” Mr. Durai pointed out. Reciprocally, Indian carriers were using more than 2,40,000 weekly seats at Gulf airports from 25 Indian airports and out of these, the weekly seats in Tiruchi only amounted to 3,760, just 1.5 % of seat capacity utilisation availed of by Air India Express according to the reports published in thehindu.com.
Because of the monopoly of Air India Express, the fares between Tiruchi and Gulf countries and vice versa were very high, Mr. Durai said. Sometimes international passengers from the Tiruchi region were compelled to board international flights from Bengaluru or Kochi, Mr. Durai added.
In another memorandum, Mr. Durai said the runway extension at Tiruchi airport was yet to happen, making it impossible for to operate wide-bodied aircrafts.
Land acquisition proceedings were likely to be completed by the end of this month for the runway extension. The State government was extending its cooperation to expedite this project, he said and requested the Minister to get the whole process sped up and sanction the necessary funds at the earliest so that the civil work for the extension of the runway was undertaken on a war footing.
Joint memorandum on flights to Delhi and Kochi
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha MPs of central Tamil Nadu including K.N. Arun Nehru (Perambalur), Durai Vaiko ( Tiruchi), S. Jothimani (Karur) S. Murasoli (Thanjavur) and R. Sudha (Mayiladuthurai) besides DMK Rajya Sabha member M.M. Abdulla, in a jointly signed memorandum to the Civil Aviation Minister requested him to consider introducing daily flight services between Tiruchi and Delhi and from Tiruchi to Kochi.
The introduction of the services would greatly facilitate travel for business, tourism and those going for official purposes bridging the gap between the southern hinterlands and the national capital, the memorandum said. The MPs said there was a long-standing demand for improved air connectivity to Tiruchi which was a significant cultural, educational and industrial hub and its airport had the potential to become a major aviation hub in the region.
