Tamil Nadu   

When will the sky clear up for international flights?

— Photo: K. Ganesan

Waiting in the wings: The Madurai Airport terminal.

MADURAI: Just two years back the question of ‘egg first or chicken first’ plagued effective utilisation of Madurai airport. What should come first? Patronage for air travel from “conservative” people of southern districts or increased flight services at convenient timings.

With 10 flights a day, the airport not only saw manifold increase in passenger patronage but also made Madurai a city with the best domestic air connectivity in Tamil Nadu. The city has been well connected with Chennai. Daily flight services also connect Madurai with two other happening cities of Bangalore and Mumbai.

As a spin off, Madurai is now the preferred choice of IT giants. Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu Chairman C. Umasankar himself has said that the distant Madurai is preferred by IT players to Tiruchi which has an international airport, just because of convenient air links with the IT cities.

The natural fallout of IT companies coming to Madurai would only strengthen the popular demand of making Madurai airport an international terminal.

A good number of people from the southern districts work abroad. Hence flight services to Singapore, the Gulf and Sri Lanka will always get good patronage, says Airport Controller M. Suresh. SriLankan Airlines, Air Arabia and Air India are keen on operating flights from here.

As a ground work, apart from extending the length of runway to 7,500 feet, the shoulders have been widened so that aircraft with a wider body can be operated from here. Besides, the apron has been provided with additional space. At present, only two Airbuses can be parked. The new facility can accommodate three Airbus 300 and one Airbus 320.

Before acquiring the status of an international terminal, Madurai airport can attract international flights in the near future. A delegation from the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a recent visit to South East Asian countries, impressed on the Malaysian Ministers and officials the need to introduce direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Madurai. A majority of passengers now boarding flights to South East Asian countries, especially Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, is from the southern districts.

The Singapore Airlines, in particular, is keen on tapping the potential of tier-II and III cities in India. Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has introduced its Coimbatore-Singapore flights from Sunday. According to Tan Chik Quee, senior vice-president, Singapore Airlines, they are keen to introduce flights to smaller cities and the Coimbatore operation is the first in this direction. The airline will look at Tiruchi, an international airport, for introduction of direct flights to Singapore.

The practice, according to Mr. Quee, is to upgrade the service on the basis of patronage. Twice or thrice-a-week services become daily service and as the patronage goes up Singapore Airlines takes over the operations from Silk Air. But the airline is not looking at Madurai at the moment, despite the potential of southern districts, because of the absence of customs and immigration facilities.

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