Make Madurai airport int’l to boost growth, urges Chamber
As of now, Madurai airport is directly connected by air service to Dubai, Colombo and Singapore by domestic airlines
MADURAI: Madurai airport should be included as a ‘point of call’ in Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with other countries to facilitate operation of direct passenger and cargo flights by foreign airlines especially those based in Singapore, Malaysia, UAE and Gulf countries, N Jegatheesan, president, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the centre.
As of now, Madurai airport is directly connected by air service to Dubai, Colombo and Singapore by domestic airlines. The Madurai airport has been a point of call with Sri Lanka alone for a long time now. The non-inclusion of Madurai airport as a point of call with other international destinations has been restraining foreign airlines.
The chamber leader also sought international recognition for the Madurai Airport, for which it should be declared as 24x7 airport. Currently, the airport is functional from 6 am to 10 pm. It was announced by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on January 10 in 2023 that five airports including the one in Madurai would be made operational round the clock from April 1, 2023, but for no avail.
In 2023 Madurai Airport handled 12,89,621 passengers, out of which 2,20,347 were international and 10,69,274 were domestic passengers. The numbers show that the Madurai airport recorded a better passenger patronage than the domestic passengers handled in airports in Tiruchy and Coimbatore, the chamber leader said.
While airports in Vijayawada, Tirupati and Shirdi were already declared as international airports by the central government, Madurai airport with much more international passenger traffic is still termed a Customs airport. There should not be any delay in declaring the Madurai airport as an international airport as it would be a catalyst for economic and trade and industrial growth of southern districts of Tamil Nadu, Jegadeesan said.
A memorandum on these demands was handed over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Tamil Nadu, he said.
