Chennai: Very soon, people in Salem, Hosur and Neyveli can hop on to flights to reach Chennai and Bengaluru with the Union civil aviation ministry and Tamil Nadu Government signing an agreement for launching of air services from these cities.
Airfields in Salem, Hosur and Neyveli will be developed to launch commercial operations with a few new players showing interest in running flights from these cities.
The civil aviation ministry had approved operation of flights from the three cities under the “Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik” (Udan) or regional connectivity scheme on March 30.
To begin commercial operations and develop the airports, the civil aviation ministry and the Tamil Nadu Government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
Salem, Neyveli and Hosur have airfields that are until now unused and they will be put to use under the scheme.
According to sources in the civil aviation ministry, TruJet, a new player in the field, has sought permission to operate flights to Bengaluru from Salem and Hosur to Chennai.
Air Odisha, another new entrant in the aviation sector, has sought permission to run flights between Salem and Chennai and Neyveli and Chennai.
“Steps were being taken to start flight services to Hosur, Salem and Neyveli in the first phase under the scheme,” a government release on Thursday said.
Under Udan, 50 per cent of the seats on each flight would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour and the operators would be extended viability gap funding for which money is partly raised through a levy of up to Rs 8,500 on flights operating in major routes like Delhi and Mumbai.
TN positive to AAI’s request for 1,000 acres
Tamil Nadu Government has responded positively to the demands from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for nearly 1,000 acres for expansion of Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruchy airports. The AAI, which runs both the domestic and international airports in the city, has been asking the state government to identify land to build a Greenfield airport on the outskirts of the city since the existing facility would not able to handle the ever-increasing traffic of passengers.
The state government’s plan to acquire land near Sriperumbudur for a Greenfield airport ran into rough weather. AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra met Mr Palaniswami on Thursday and told him that the state government should identify two to three locations for establishing a second airport near Chennai to cater to its growing demands.
“All big cities will require two airports, we will require a minimum of 2000 acres for a greenfield airport,” he told reporters here, adding that 200 acres of land have been sought from the state government for expansion of the existing airport. Mr Mohapatra said the AAI has also sought 300 and 450 acres of land for the expansion of the airports at Coimbatore and Tiruchirapalli, he said.
“Plans were on to demolish and re-construct an existing structure at Chennai airport at an estimated Rs 2,500 crore, works for which are likely to start later this year and expected to be completed in three years,” Mohapatra said.
This, in addition to the proposed expansion activities, will enable increasing flight operations here from 32 per hour to 40 while passenger footfall will go up from 18 million to 30 million annually by 2020, he said.
