Chopper service to Kodai, Rameswaram

Tambaram: Though air travellers have constituted only three per cent of the total number of passengers using all transport modes in the country, the civil aviation sector is growing at a drastic pace.
However, there is a mismatch between capacity and requirement, said K. Ramalingam, Chairman of Airports Authority of India, on Friday.
Addressing a two-day seminar on ``Changing Trends in Civil Aviation,'' organised by the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet, the AAI chief said there were 300 aircraft in the country at present, compared to 900 in China.
Nearly 40 million passengers travelled by air every year, compared to 138 million in China, Dr. Ramalingam said.
``Operators would buy 500 aircraft including A-380 in the next five years,'' Dr. Ramalingam said. To keep pace with the demand, infrastructure development in terms of expansion and improvement of the existing facilities and creation of new ones were imperative.
In order to expand air services to remote areas and pilgrim spots, the Government would soon be launching helicopter services.
There would be helicopter links from Madurai to Kodaikanal and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, when the services commenced, Mr. Ramalingam said.
03/03/07 The Hindu

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Categories: General Aviation Mar 2007, New Mar 2007