Madurai: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Centre to declare Madurai as an international airport as 2,54,163 international travellers used the airport between April 2018 and December 2018, while only 1,81,802 passengers flew to foreign countries through Coimbatore airport during the same period.
President of the chamber, N Jegatheesan said that the number of international passengers in Madurai is higher than Coimbatore even though it had only three international services. The Coimbatore airport was already included in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with several other countries.
International air traffic from Vijayawada airport during the same period was only 2,102, and no one departed from Tirupathi airport. However, while the central government declared Vijayawada and Tirupathi as international airports, Madurai remained a customs airport. Madurai, the second largest city in the state, is the gateway for thirteen south and central districts including Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari. These districts had a total population of 2,32,93,738, which is 29% of the state’s population.
Every year, approximately 1.2 lakh passengers travel from Madurai and the other southern districts to Malaysia, 94,000 to Singapore, 80,000 to UAE, 68,000 to Saudi Arabia and 75,000 to Oman. Lack of direct air connectivity to many of the international destinations has been restricting the tourism development, exports and economic growth of the region. Only declaring Madurai as an international airport will help its industrial growth, he said.
19/06/19 Times of India
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President of the chamber, N Jegatheesan said that the number of international passengers in Madurai is higher than Coimbatore even though it had only three international services. The Coimbatore airport was already included in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with several other countries.
International air traffic from Vijayawada airport during the same period was only 2,102, and no one departed from Tirupathi airport. However, while the central government declared Vijayawada and Tirupathi as international airports, Madurai remained a customs airport. Madurai, the second largest city in the state, is the gateway for thirteen south and central districts including Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari. These districts had a total population of 2,32,93,738, which is 29% of the state’s population.
Every year, approximately 1.2 lakh passengers travel from Madurai and the other southern districts to Malaysia, 94,000 to Singapore, 80,000 to UAE, 68,000 to Saudi Arabia and 75,000 to Oman. Lack of direct air connectivity to many of the international destinations has been restricting the tourism development, exports and economic growth of the region. Only declaring Madurai as an international airport will help its industrial growth, he said.
19/06/19 Times of India
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