Airport sources said that Air Asia and Air Costa have already expressed their willingness to use Chennai airport for their flight operations in India, keeping in mind the parking space available.
Chennai airport AGM (PR) Harbhajan Singh said that 36 aircraft were parked there at night, “Air India having four planes, Jet Airways and Spicejet having 12 each, Indigo six and Go Air and Air Costa one each,” he added. The city airport has a total of 85 parking bays, including three hangars.
According to Mr Singh, the airport earns an average revenue of about Rs 17.75 crore per month from landing and parking charges. While the city airport charges only Rs 8 per Metric Tonne (MT) of the aircraft per hour for parking and Rs 15.70 per MT per hour for housing, Delhi airport charges Rs 14.15 per MT and Rs 28.31 per MT.
The rise in night parking at the city airport also benefits passengers as they are able to depart to various important cities in the country first thing in the morning. “When the passengers leave early, then it is easier for them, as they would have the whole day ahead of them for work,” said Air Passengers’ Association of India (APAI) president D. Sudhakara Reddy.
Former AAI board member (operations) Robey Lal said that the departure of 12 flights each of Jet Airways and Spicejet out of Chennai every morning was a mark of the city’s economic development. “More morning flights out of Chennai is a good thing,” he added.
