With the Tiruchi airport authorities declaring the facility ready for 24-hour operations, one of the major constraints in introduction of new flights to the city has been removed.
The airport had been hampered for long owing to the restrictions imposed on the schedule of flight operations as there was a shortage of staff at the air traffic control (ATC). Airlines have been complaining that they were not being given convenient time slots and that they had to fit their schedule suggested by the airport authorities.
Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) say that this would be not a problem anymore and the airport was now ready for 24-hour operations. “We are ready for 24-hour operation and air operators can choose any time slot of their convenience. We had planned to be ready for 24-hour operations from October 1, but we are prepared to take additional flights at any time slot even now,” S.Dharmaraj, Airport Controller, told The Hindu . When asked about the reported shortage of staff at the ATC, Mr. Dharmaraj said these were operational matters to be handled internally but assured this would not be constraint for the introduction of new flights.
A few months back, a couple of additional staff were posted at the ATC here but a few were later transferred. Additional hands were expected to be posted by October. Meanwhile, Tiger Airways is all set to increase its frequency on the Tiruchi-Singapore sector from September 5. The airline is already operating seven flights a week on the sector and four more flights a week are to be added. With this, the airline would operate two flights a day on four days of the week. This apart, Air India Express is also operating daily flights to Singapore-Tiruchi-Chennai sector.
Spicejet is expected to enter the Tiruchi market with the launch of flights on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai sector in its winter schedule. Air India Express is also likely to increase its frequency to Abu Dhabi from October 28.
