Chennai: Chennai airport, despite being tagged the ‘gateway to southern India’, is ill-equipped to be a transit hub for airlines, say aviation experts, referring to modernisation plans to this effect proposed in 2006 by then Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel. He had wanted Chennai to be a world-class hub.
“As far as international operations are concerned, it is geographically well placed to connect the South East, far East with Middle East, Africa and Europe. Domestically, it connects existing and emerging markets across the country, in general, with southern India, including Port Blair, more specifically,” says B. Govindarajan, chief operating officer, Tirwin Management Services (P) Ltd, an aviation consultancy firm.
Fast-forwarding to the present, though modern terminals, costing the public exchequer over Rs 2,000 crore, were inaugurated in January last year, the actual commissioning took place several months later. Worse still, the arrival hall of the international terminal is yet to see light of day due to shortage of customs manpower and immigration staff, according to an airport official.
08/11/14 Venkatesan Parthasarathy/Deccan Chronicle
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“As far as international operations are concerned, it is geographically well placed to connect the South East, far East with Middle East, Africa and Europe. Domestically, it connects existing and emerging markets across the country, in general, with southern India, including Port Blair, more specifically,” says B. Govindarajan, chief operating officer, Tirwin Management Services (P) Ltd, an aviation consultancy firm.
Fast-forwarding to the present, though modern terminals, costing the public exchequer over Rs 2,000 crore, were inaugurated in January last year, the actual commissioning took place several months later. Worse still, the arrival hall of the international terminal is yet to see light of day due to shortage of customs manpower and immigration staff, according to an airport official.
08/11/14 Venkatesan Parthasarathy/Deccan Chronicle
