Coimbatore, in spite of having an international airport has very few direct connectivity to international destinations. Due to these tourists and passenger from Coimbatore have to travel to other Metro hubs for connecting flights to tourist destinations in SouthEast Asia and Middle East. Realising this the Kongu Global Forum (KGF) decided to bring forth this issue before the ministry of civil aviation. In an open letter to the minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, the KGF has urged the ministry to include Coimbatore airport as ‘point of call' in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) and in the ASEAN BASA. 

ASEAN BASA and BASA are bilateral trade agreements signed between India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Middle East respectively, for international flight operations to and from various Indian cities by foreign carriers.

Also Read

placeholder

Uttarakhand soon to have direct connectivity to seven domestic airports

placeholder

Air India adds regional languages to IVR for passenger convenience

placeholder

India, Sustainability and SAF

KGF is an association of industrial, business and trade leaders from western districts of Tamil Nadu. 

Coimbatore, the second largest city in Tamil Nadu has the poorest international connectivity with direct international airlines operating to just two destinations- Singapore, and Sharjah. 

In the letter, A Sakthivel, chairman, KGF and Vanitha Mohan, vice-chairperson stressed on the need of having more international flights to fast-developing tier-II cities such as Coimbatore, which are currently excluded from the agreement’s list of ‘points of call’.

As Coimbatore is not the point of call, international airlines will not get the rights to operate direct flights to and from Coimbatore. The current agreement benefits six metropolitan cities and 18 tier-II cities, allowing an unlimited number of international flights by foreign carriers.

In the letter KGF has urged the minister to consider adding Coimbatore as the point of call as it will provide people in the western Tamil Nadu with direct access to international flights to key destinations in Southeast Asia and Middle East. The letter went on to add the benefits of adding Coimbatore as it would reduce the need for passengers from the region to travel long distances to other airports for traveling to Southeast Asia or Middle East. 

“At a recent aviation conclave held in Coimbatore, several international airlines, including AirAsia X, AirAsia Thailand, FlyDubai, Oman Air, Royal Brunei, Qatar Airways, Malindo (Batik) Air and Thai Airways, had expressed their interest in operating flights from Coimbatore to key destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat and Doha. However, as Coimbatore is not a ‘point of call’, these carriers are unable to get rights to operate from Coimbatore,” the letter noted.