The airport at Vagaikulam here is yet to see night landing facility even after years of inauguration.
This shortcoming stalls the process of bringing in additional services to Tuticorin, says T. Johnson, president, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tuticorin.
The chamber has made a series of efforts to ensure better air connectivity to Tuticorin. Its delegates would soon meet the Regional Director, Airports Authority of India, seeking his intervention in this regard, Mr. Johnson said on Tuesday. Once this facility is available, aircraft operators would be approached to introduce one more flight service during night hours on a daily basis.
At present, two smaller flights to Chennai and Bangalore are being operated from the Tuticorin airport daily. He said lighting equipment was available at the airport here but it was not installed.
Airport sources, when contacted, said that infrastructure for night landing of flights was available but they were waiting for approval to operate the facility.
A few high-rise structures at a distance of 10 mile radius at the approach funnel of this airport were yet to be included in the aerodrome obstruction chart.
Red lamps atop such high-rise structures should be installed for air navigation at night.
The Airports Authority of India had conducted a survey and some electricity poles and cell phone towers were shifted and tall trees felled.
Sources said that the 1,086-feet high Vallanadu Hills might cause some obstruction to navigation so that the matter was taken up with the Department of Forests.
Land acquisitionThe approval to operate this facility is expected in five to six months. Moreover, 90 per cent of land acquisition for this airport expansion was over.
At present, the airport is being functional on 188 acres and 586 more acres is being acquired for the expansion.
After the acquisition process is completed, the existing 1,350 meter runway will be extended up to a length of 2,000 meters with 45 meter width in the first phase and up to 3, 000 meters in the second phase of the expansion to accommodate bigger flights. Besides, an ATM facility will be launched here soon,” the sources said.
