On Monday afternoon, support staff at the Puducherry Airport put the finishing touches to preparations to welcome the first Air Alliance flight (a subsidiary of Air India Ltd) from Bengaluru expected to arrive at 16.35 p.m. on Tuesday, as the airport re-starts operations.
After inspecting the arrangements at the Puducherry Airport on Monday, Tourism Minister P. Rajavelu told The Hindu that the government was ready to extend all assistance to the operator.
Mr. Rajavelu said the government was holding talks with two other operators who had evinced interest in launching services from here.
Facilities
A tourism counter run by the Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation will provide logistical assistance and information on tourist attractions. Around five tourist guides would be deployed, said Mr. Rajavelu. There will also be a food counter for passengers. While the airport has wheelchair facility from the counter to the aircraft, the passenger will have to be helped from the tarmac to their seat.
Air India will have a ticketing counter at the airport which will be open six days a week.
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been put in place at the airport. About 30 police personnel from the India Reserve Battalion (IRBN) are deployed. As per security norms, x-ray machines, Door Frame Metal Detectors, Explosive Trace Detector, hand held metal detector have been installed at the airport. Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) have been purchased and the entire terminal building would be brought under close surveillance, said an airport official.
Special fare
For the first week, the carrier is offering a special fare of around Rs1,500. The regular fare is around Rs.4,000 on the single-cabin economy class flight. “The tickets are quite reasonable. We will find out how the market is responding and see the performance after a month,” said R. Mihir Vardhan, Secretary to Tourism.
Expectations
Among those who have welcomed the move is French Consul General Philippe Janvier-Kamiyama, who said he will be among the earliest set of passengers who will take the flight this weekend. “This will attract more tourists from France to Puducherry. It is also easier for our officials to travel to and from our embassy in Delhi and our consulate in Bengaluru,” he said.
Most of the industries are hopeful that air connectivity should not start and end abruptly this time like earlier. There cannot be a Smart City without an airport, said I Syed Sajjadh Ali, former Chairman, CII, Puducherry.
