The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Scope for international air operations from Tiruchi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 30, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Scope for international air operations from Tiruchi

By S.Ganesan

TIRUCHI, APRIL 29. With the beginning of runway expansion work at the airport here, some major airlines, including a few foreign carriers, are taking a serious look at Tiruchi as an emerging international destination.

Tiruchi is viewed as a market with huge potential and already some of the air carriers, including Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Serendib Airlines; a Sri Lankan private carrier, and Malaysian Airlines have conducted market studies for introducing services from here.

Indian Airlines is contemplating a service to Singapore from Tiruchi and is keen on being the first to start operations in the sector. Jet Airways and Air Deccan are also said to be pondering operations from here, though much depends on the policies of the new government.

``The future, especially 2005, looks very bright for Tiruchi in the aviation sector,'' say industry sources. They point out that the combined air ticket sale by travel agents of Tiruchi was worth quite a few crores a year. But a major percentage of the passengers who book their tickets in the Tiruchi region board international flights in Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. Launching direct services from Tiruchi makes sound business sense for the air carriers. ``We are definitely looking to tap the ethnic and labour traffic from Tiruchi and neighbouring districts,'' says an executive of a foreign airline here.

Now, the city is connected to Colombo by Sri Lankan Airlines and Sharjah-Kuwait by Indian Airlines.

The sources said Silk Air had completed a survey for introduction of services in the Singapore-Tiruchi sector and also held a meeting with travel agents here recently. Malaysian Airlines, which is planning a direct flight to Kuala Lumpur, has also conducted a market survey.

Serendib Airlines has approached the Civil Aviation Ministry for permission to operate flights in the Tiruchi-Colombo sector. The airline is planning three services a week and indications are it will be ready to begin operations by mid-June.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is also gearing up to meet the growing demand. The runway expansion project, taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.25 crores, is scheduled for completion by March 2005 but authorities are keen on finishing it ahead of schedule. The communication systems were upgraded recently with state-of-the-art equipment.

However, for the anticipated increase in services, the terminal building and the apron have to be expanded. The AAI has cleared a proposal for modifying the terminal building, with an air-conditioned passenger movement area, to accommodate more passengers. Tenders have been called for setting up duty-free shops. A canopied structure will soon come up alongside the terminal building to house kiosks and airline offices. Proposals for constructing a new integrated terminal building and a cargo complex are in the conceptual stage.

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