Flying higher, Trichy Airport crosses 1.5m milestone

With a robust growth of handling more than 1.5 million passengers during 2017-18, the Trichy International Airport has emerged a major airport from the list of non-metro airports in the country. After joining the list of airports in the above 1.5 million passenger category, Trichy airport is now eligible for requesting additional amenities from the AAI and expansion of terminal for handling the increased passenger traffic.
While international flights contribute to more than 90% of the passengers, domestic services contribute to less than 10% of the traffic. This achievement has made Trichy airport come under the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) - the body, which regulates the tariff and other charges for aeronautical services at airports and monitors the performance standards of airports, sources said.
Trichy airport needs additional aerobridges and bays to facilitate airlines to operate more services. Terminal passenger handling space has to be enhanced to accommodate more peak time passengers.




"Since Trichy’s strength is its international passengers, it is imperative on the part of the authorities to operate more overseas services, especially to the Gulf countries from here. It is a decades-old demand of more than 5 million expatriates from Central Tamil Nadu working in the Gulf countries. This apart, expanding services to South East Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia is also important," VB Jaganath, Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavors (TIDES) said.
"Trichy achieved every milestone with its limited infrastructure and services. The airport needs a longer runway to handle wide-body aircraft. The construction of the proposed new integrated terminal should be started immediately. If the central and state governments extend their support, Trichy airport will grow leap and bounds," he added.

President of the Tiruchirapalli District Tiny and Small Industries Association (TIDITSIA) N Kanagasabapathy also echoed the same view. He said that the shorter runway is restricting the airport from handling wide-body aircraft, which is affecting the operations of dedicated cargo carriers, he said. "Air Asia should commence service to Kuwait as a number of skilled labourers from the region are working there. So far, they are using Chennai airport to arrive at Trichy on holidays," he added.
Meanwhile, 0.5% of the foreign tourists who are using e-visa are arriving at Trichy airport, a statement from the union tourism ministry said.

Source