Kochi: Business jet operations seem to be picking up at Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial). According to airport authorities, there has been an 80% increase in business jet movements from the airport during the first nine months of this fiscal compared with the same period last year.
The number of non-scheduled flights has increased to 475 from April to December end this year as against 265 during the same period in the previous year, airport sources told TOI here.
Officials of the Joy Jets, the sole group to operate a chartered jet from the Cochin airport, said they have recorded a 60% growth in their business in the last six months.
They said the company, which is operating an Embraer Phenom 100 business jet since October 2011, was able to fly 40 hours per month, a good figure as per the industry standards. "We generally fly to areas like Chennai, Madurai, Bangalore and Pune. But we have also operated long-distance chartered flights to places such as New Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata," a Joy Jets official said.
16/01/13 T Ramavarman/Times of India
