Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

AI yet to get land for setting up maintenance base

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

The airline is pursuing the matter with the State Government

Thiruvananthapuram: The Government is yet to hand over 6.07 hectares of land to Air-India to set up the Rs.70-crore maintenance base for Boeing 737-800 aircraft in the vicinity of Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

"We have got the official letter from the State Government offering 6.07 hectares of land in the vicinity of the airport for setting up the maintenance base. But, we are yet to get physical possession of the land," a top official of the AI headquarters in Mumbai, told The Hindu here on Friday.

The airline authorities are pursuing the matter with the Government and are making every effort to expedite the handing over of the land to take up construction of the maintenance base. Incidentally, the loss-making Trivandrum Rubber Works comes in the land identified for setting up the facility. The Government had promised to hand over the land required for setting up the base in two phases of 4.6 hectares and 1.42 hectares, he said.

The State Government had already acquired 10.92 hectares of land for the construction of a world-class airport terminal on the city side and had handed it over to the Airports Authority of India. The project is awaiting clearance of the Public Investment Board.

Already, the director board of the national carrier has decided to set up the engineering base. The base is to be set up by Air-India Engineering Services, a subsidiary of AI. The decision to set up the base in the vicinity of the international airport had been taken as Mumbai, the present maintenance base of AI, is already over-saturated.

The airline will take up the construction of boundary wall once the 6.07 hectares of land is officially handed over to it. "The drawings for the hangar to be set up are getting ready. Later, the airline will appoint a Project Management Consultant. The idea is to develop the base for Maintenance Require Overhaul," he added.

Air-India expects more aircraft of the 737-800 series to turn around from Thiruvananthapuram, the premier international airport of the State.

The 737-800, with a capacity of 181 economy seats, is deployed for the operations of Air-India Express to the Gulf sector. The airline has received the fourth 737-800 aircraft acquired from Seattle and it would be pressed into service in summer schedule. The maintenance base is expected to provide jobs to 5,000 persons directly and 5,000 persons indirectly. The national carrier expects that airlines in the Gulf region and those operating to the State to utilise the service of the base.

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