Travel industry and stakeholders have made a strong pitch for including Tiruchi airport as a point of call in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to pave the way for direct connectivity to various West Asian countries by foreign carriers.
Despite Tiruchi airport being unique among the non-metro international airports with more overseas flights than domestic flights, it lacks adequate direct connectivity to the West Asian nations notwithstanding repeated demands from the travel sector.
Tiruchi serves as the hub for central and southern districts from where thousands of people are employed in different countries in West Asia. At present, overseas flights to select south and south-east Asian destinations are operated from Tiruchi every day with no Gulf–based foreign carriers operating to Tiruchi as it is yet to be included as a point of call under the BASA.
Barring the Air India Express that operates flights from Tiruchi to Dubai, there is no other foreign carrier to West Asia.
Under the present circumstances, migrant workers from the central and southern districts employed in the West Asian countries and tourists of these regions are forced to travel to Chennai to fly to their respective destination in Gulf countries.
Many others travel to Colombo from where they proceed to different West Asian countries in the absence of a direct connectivity from Tiruchi. Considering Tiruchi airport’s great potential, many Gulf carriers were certainly keen to start services, but were unable to do so as Tiruchi airport was yet to be included as a point of call in BASA, say travel industry sources.
There is a huge demand for direct flights to West Asian destinations from Tiruchi given the huge workforce of central and southern districts employed there, says M.S. Paramasivam, chairman, South India Chapter of the Travel Agents Association of India.
Non-inclusion of Tiruchi airport as a point of call under BASA was causing inconvenience to number of Gulf-bound travellers especially those from the central and southern districts, says M. Sekaran, president of the Tiruchi-based Air, Rail, and Road Travellers Federation.
The travel industry has been seeking steps on the part of the Centre to facilitate direct connectivity from Tiruchi to West Asian countries.
The federation made a strong pitch by forwarding a memorandum to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to include Tiruchi airport as a point of call under BASA to facilitate Gulf carriers operate their services from here.
Tiruchi MP P. Kumar said he had raised in Parliament the issue of including Tiruchi airport as a point of call under the BASA to enable West Asia-based airlines start their operations from Tiruchi.
A group of MPs from the delta region and its neighbouring districts had presented a memorandum in this regard to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, he said.
Airport sources said there would definitely be a quantum jump in passenger and cargo traffic once foreign airlines commence operations to the West Asian countries from Tiruchi.
