Improve air connectivity from Trichy: MPs

TRICHY: Trichy MP Durai Vaiko has demanded that the civil aviation ministry designate the Trichy international airport as point of call under the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between India and Gulf countries to operate additional flights.
In a letter to civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu on July 1, Trichy MP Durai Vaiko said more than 2.6 lakh seats per week are used by carriers representing Gulf countries in 16 Indian airports except Trichy.
Reciprocally, more than 2.4 lakh weekly seats are used by Indian carriers in the Gulf airports of which only 3,760 weekly seats are from Trichy, which is only 1.5% of the seat capacity utilisation.
“Because of the monopoly of Air India Express, the fares between Trichy and Gulf countries and vice versa are very high,” the Trichy MP said in his letter.
Designating Trichy as a point of call for a few Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, would enhance the international traffic potential of Trichy, he added.
He reiterated the demand for extending the runway of the Trichy airport through land acquisitions as it would help operate wide body aircraft for more international destinations.
“Despite being an educational and industrial hub, Trichy faces a significant gap in air connectivity. Absence of daily flights to Delhi is a trouble for parliamentarians like us,” Perambalur MP Arun Nehru said.
In a common demand signed by Perambalur MP, Trichy MP, Thanjavur MP S Murasoli, Karur MP S Jothimani, Mayiladuthurai MP R Sudha and Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdulla from Pudukottai, the civil aviation minister was urged to operate daily flights from Trichy connecting New Delhi and Cochin.