The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, has appealed to Union Civil Aviation Minister to expedite the Coimbatore airport expansion project.
Chamber president D. Nandakumar has said in a press release that Coimbatore is a hub to those travelling to tourism towns such as Yercaud, Udhagamandalam or Kodaikanal. It is also a major manufacturing centre with over 25,000 registered companies and exports worth over Rs. 20,000 crore.
However, Coimbatore has direct international connectivity only to Sharjah and Singapore. The airport has not been developed though there are plans for its expansion. Issues such as land acquisition should be settled soon and the airport should be developed to have better connectivity.
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As many as 18 cities in the country, including Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu, have been covered under a special bilateral approval to which airliners from Asian countries can operate. Coimbatore has not been included in the list though it has several business visitors from several countries.
The city should be included in the list so that more international flights operate here, he has said.