THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Indonesian low cost airline Lion Air, that is to commence flights to Saudi Arabian port city Jeddah in mid-October for Umrah, is to make a brief stopover at Thiruvananthapuram international airport for refuelling.
The new fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to be used for flight operations by the Jakartha-based PT. Lion Mentari Airlines (Lion Air )is to make a 30 minute technical landing here as it can fly only for seven-and-a-half hours at a stretch without refuelling.
The 180-seater aircraft will be parked in remote bay in the airport and the passengers and the crew will have to remain on-board during the refuelling, Airport Director, George G. Tharakan told The Hindu. The clearance of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is awaited.
Although Area Control in Thiruvananthapuram airport managed by the CNS-ATM of the AAI handles 250 overseas flight daily from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Colombo and Male to Europe and Middle East, it is for the first time that a scheduled airline is being given the permission for refuelling in the airport.
The Airports Authority of India, which is managing the premier airport of the state that is collecting charges from these overhead international flights, will be able to collect landing and parking charges and cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel from Lion Air.
Lion Air Group in its official Facebook account has announced that Lion Air will make refuelling stop at Thiruvananthapuram airport for its flights to Jeddah and Madinah. The first flight from Indonesian city of Bandar Lampung is to touch down here on October 21. The flights from Pekanbaru, Palembang and Padang is also to land here. In all, 20 flights of Lion Air proceeding to Jeddah and back will make technical landing here.
Vijay Bhusan, Chairman, Airline Operators Committee (AOC), said this will result in more airlines traversing through the airspace to land in the airport. “The crew layover will generate revenue for the ground handling agency and hotel and tourism industry,’’ he added. Already, Malindo Air of the Lion Group is operating three flights a week to the city from Kuala Lumpur.
EOM/ARK
