Airports Authority of India Chairman M. Suresh on Tuesday officially announced that the airport in Madurai would have 24x7 operations.
However, passenger would have to wait for a few more weeks for additional flights to be operated late in the night or early in the morning from the airport.
“The airport is ready for round-the-clock operation. Airline operators have to come forward to make use of the opportunity to provide additional connectivity to newer destinations in the country,” said Virudhunagar MP B. Manickam Tagore, who is the Chairman of Madurai Airport Advisory Committee.
Madurai had good potential for operating additional flights to destinations such as Pune, Varanasi and Kolkata, he added.
Thanking the AAI Chairman for getting a long-felt demand of southern districts fulfilled, Mr. Tagore appealed to Collector M.S. Sangeetha to expedite the land acquisition process, which was going on for 14 years, for expansion of the airport in Madurai.
Speaking on the occasion, Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan said that not just elected representatives, but also the local trade bodies had been making repeated demands for round-the-clock operation of the airport. “Despite handling the highest number of domestic passengers among various airports across the country, Madurai was for long denied the facility, while smaller airports were provided 24x7 operations.”
The Collector said the entire process of land acquisition would get completed within a month. “I have given administrative sanction for laying an alternative route for a road that was hindering construction of a compound wall [around the acquired land for Madurai airport].”
Another issue posing obstacle in land acquisition was location of water bodies. “We will soon get a report from the Water Resources Department with regard to draining the water of two tanks to nearby tanks by deepening them,” she added.
MLAs V.V. Rajan Chellappa (Tirupparankundram) and G. Ashokan (Sivakasi) complained about skyrocketing airfares on Madurai-Chennai route.
Airport Director P. Muthu Kumar and Deputy General Manager Baskar spoke.
Published - October 01, 2024 10:08 pm IST
