hief Minister N. Rangasamy expressed hope that Tamil Nadu would consider the Puducherry government’s request for additional land for airport expansion plans, as the airport re-started operations on Tuesday with flights to and from Bengaluru.
The top brass of the Puducherry government, led by Mr. Rangasamy, was present at the flag off of the Alliance Air (a subsidiary of Air India) flight to Bengaluru around 5 p.m.
As the ATR aircraft took off with 30 passengers, it was welcomed by a round of applause from those present.
Earlier, 12 passengers who arrived on the first inbound flight from Bengaluru around 4.30 p.m. were welcomed by Lok Sabha MP R. Radhakrishnan, Tourism Minister P. Rajavelu and French Consul General Philippe Janvier-Kamiyama.
Passengers were given welcome kits.
R. Venkatachalapathy, Airport Director, said that it had been a smooth day of operations. The flights were captained by George Cano.
District Collector S. Sundaravadivelu said, “This is a good sign for Puducherry to be back on the aviation map, and also aid tourism. Air connectivity is a pre-requisite for businesses.”
Top officials from Air India, Electricity Minister T. Thiagarajan, Local Administration Minister N.G. Pannirselvam, Tourism Secretary Mihir Vardhan and Tourism Director R. Mounissamy were among those present at the airport on Tuesday.
