The next phase of expansion of the Tiruchi airport would be taken up after the required land was made available by the State Government, said D. Devaraj, Regional Executive Director (Southern Region), Airports Authority of India (AAI).
“We have prepared the master plans for the future expansion of Tiruchi, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tuticorin and Salem airports, taking into account the requirements for the next 20 years. The expansion programme at the airports would be taken up once the land was made available, depending on the air traffic at the respective places,” Mr. Devaraj told reporters here on Tuesday.
Chess, carom tournaments
He was speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural of the All India AAI chess and carom tournament.
Mr. Devaraj asserted that the State's response was positive towards the development programmes and expressed confidence that the land issues would be sorted out soon.
He indicated that the expansion of the runway and construction of a technical complex, with a modern Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, were planned as part of the expansion plans of the Tiruchi airport.
Answering a query on the reported manpower shortage at the ATC at Tiruchi, he said that AAI had recruited personnel recently and they were undergoing training.
The problem would be addressed to a large extent within the next three to four months once the new batch of employees completed their training and given postings.
The old terminal building at the Tiruchi airport has already been made ready for use as a cargo complex. Closed circuit cameras for surveillance in the airport would be installed within the next two months.
The airport, Mr. Devaraj, said was already achieved operating profit and discounted the possibility of it being privatised, even partially.
