The fast-growing Tiruchi international airport has witnessed a rise in the movement of international and domestic passengers in the 2016-17 fiscal when compared to the previous year.
This is despite temporary suspension of flight services at different periods of time in the previous fiscal by Sri Lankan Airlines. This non-metro airport with more overseas flight operations than domestic services totally handled over 13.59 lakh passengers – both international and domestic – in the 2016-17 financial year.
Overseas passengers
The figures of overseas passengers alone exceeded a little over 11.9 lakh. The number of domestic passengers handled at the airport was more than 1.69 lakh.
Airport authorities here said the overall passenger traffic growth recorded was 5.58% in 2016-17 fiscal which was above the previous year when the total international and domestic passengers handled was 12.97 lakh.
Tiruchi has at present direct connectivity to select overseas destinations – Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Sharjah - with persistent demands from travellers to operate services to more destinations especially to the West Asian region.
Kuala Lumpur-bound Air Asia continued to remain top in operating more services from Tiruchi when compared to Air India Express, Sri Lankan Airlines, Tiger Airways and Malindo Air.
Airport sources feel that the international passengers’ movement from and to Tiruchi would have been more but for the sudden temporary suspension of services by Sri Lankan Airlines during the previous fiscal.
Sri Lankan Airlines which operates daily flights twice from Tiruchi to Colombo temporarily cancelled one of its services for nearly three months in the last fiscal.
The 2016-17 fiscal saw the introduction of a new service to Sharjah from Tiruchi by Air India Express which added to the international passenger traffic growth.
However, the much awaited new overseas service to Abu Dhabi from Tiruchi by the Jet Airways failed to take off from February despite bookings having been made by travellers.
Though the airline had announced the date of launch of the Abu Dhabi service, it put off the service much to the disappointment of the travellers seeking flight services to cover more West Asian destinations from Tiruchi.
On the domestic front, there has been no direct connectivity to any other city barring Chennai notwithstanding demands for introduction of flight services to Mumbai and Bengaluru from Tiruchi.
Airport sources said they had expected a 10 % growth in overall passenger traffic in 2016-17 over the previous year. However, that figure could not be achieved.
