The Tiruchi international airport handled 1,295 flights operated through Vande Bharat Mission, Air Bubble agreement and chartered flights with 1.82 lakh passengers during the COVID-19 period, Airport Director S. Dharmaraj said on Sunday.
The airport handled services to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Kuwait, Damam, Bahrain and Jeddah during the pandemic period, Mr. Dharmaraj said speaking at the Independence Day celebration held on the airport premises here.
Highlighting the airside infrastructure projects completed at the airport, Mr. Dharmaraj said a new state-of-the-art Instrument Landing System had been installed at a cost of ₹3.5 crore. A new VHF transmitter receiver had replaced the analog VHF transmitter and receiver to enhance communication between the pilot and the air traffic controller. The voice operated control systems had been replaced at a cost ₹2 crore.
A new explosive trace detector under Make In India initiative had also been installed at the airport. All conventional light fittings had been replaced with suitable LED fittings as part of an energy saving drive.
Mr. Dharmaraj pointed out that the cost of conducting Rapid PCR test introduced at Tiruchi international airport for travellers proceeding to the United Arab Emirates was the lowest when compared to any other airport in the country.
On the land acquisition front, Mr. Dharmaraj said the Airports Authority of India had acquired 40.6 acres so far out of 345.62 acres from the State government and indicated that there would be substantial progress on land acquisition in the coming months.
