Says Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry
A view of Madurai airport
The TamilNadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for early upgrading of Madurai airport into an international terminal.
In a memorandum submitted to the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr.Praful Patel, in New Delhi last week, the chamber said that the lack of direct international air connectivity led to retardation of industrial development in the southern districts.
The work of runway extension to 7,500 feet from 6,000 feet is under way and preliminary steps are on to extend it up to 9,000 feet, a basic requirement for international airport status.
Stating that the landing of jumbo jet cargo aircraft required a runway of 12,000 feet, the memorandum urged the Union Minister to take efforts to acquire land for extension of runway up to the required distance.
Night parking
The airport could be used for night parking and it could also have hangers to carry out maintenance of aircraft, thus generating additional employment opportunities.
Apart from being the second most important cluster of tourism attractions in the State, Madurai was growing as a health destination with the presence of many prominent hospitals. The international airport here would help nurture these potential areas.
A huge number of people from southern districts employed in foreign countries contributed to the inbound and outbound air passenger traffic in this area. Besides, the Nanguneri special economic zone, Koodangulam Atomic Power Plant and ongoing Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project would accelerate the potential for increased passenger traffic from Madurai airport.
The abundant quantity of fruits, vegetables and flowers grown in Madurai and nearby Dindigul district were exported to Male and other foreign destination through Thiruvananthapuram airport, the memorandum said. For all these reasons, the airport should be converted into an international terminal at the earliest with all required facilities like customs clearance and exchange counters.
Aviation University
Stating that the open sky policy had necessitated recruitment of over 2,000 qualified pilots in India by 2010, besides an anticipated demand for engineers, air traffic controllers and other staff in the country, the situation warranted setting up of an aviation university.
Madurai airport was free from fog and away from busy air corridors. Besides abundant land and large chunk of engineering and other graduates in the region, Madurai would be the ideal place for setting up the university the memorandum said.
The Dindigul MP, N.S.V. Chitthan, and the chamber president, S. Rethinavelu, led a delegation to submit the memorandum. |
