Sunday, October 04, 2015

Four years into international services, Trichy airport still looks wistfully at Gulf

Trichy: As Trichy International Airport enters the fourth year of its international operations from Sunday, the non-inclusion of the airport in the BASA (Bilateral Air Services Agreement) continues to prevent foreign carriers from starting operations from the city to the Gulf countries.

While passenger traffic is increasing year on year with more services towards south east Asian countries, people from southern states still demand direct carriers to the Gulf. The overseas passenger traffic is set to cross 13 lakh this year.

BASA is an agreement between two countries which allows international commercial air transport between their territories. A senior official of the aviation department at the airport said every year, the agreement is revised based on capacity addition and the requirement of carriers. Several prominent Gulf carriers asked for seat allocation for Trichy, but it was never awarded.

According to data obtained from the Trichy International Airport and the directorate general of civil aviation, passengers have been increasing over the years and overseas passengers contribute majorly to this growth. The airport receives at least 1,000 passengers every day.
04/10/15 Harish Murali/Times of India
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