The Hindu Business Line : AAI plans Rs 104-cr expansion in South

THE Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to invest Rs 104 crore this year in airport expansion in the southern region to facilitate wide-bodied jet operation.

Mr S.K. Saraswati, Regional Executive Director, AAI, said that the southern region has shown a growth of 18.2 per cent in 2004 in passenger traffic compared to the national average of 11.4 per cent. He said that the runways in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi are being expanded. Airlines have expressed interest to operate services to West Asia and South-East from Coimbatore, he said.

The airports in Hubli and Vijayawada are being commissioned to enable airlines to start operations from there. The Mysore airport is also in the process of being developed and the airport building in Kozhikode will be expanded, he said.

He added that the congestion in Hyderabad and Bangalore airports would be eased once the new airports are commissioned.

Mr Saraswati was speaking at the launch of the Air Passengers Association of India's (APAI) Web site. He hoped that this Web site would be useful in providing feedback on passengers' needs.

Besides helping passengers register their complaints, the Web site will also update them on the latest aviation news.

Mr D. Sudhakara Reddy, President, APAI, pointed out that the Government is taking just five-year traffic projections for expansion of Mumbai and Delhi airport terminals, while air traffic is growing at double-digit rates. He said that the Government should take at least 20-year projections into account so that the airports are large enough to handle the traffic.

Mr Milan Ratiala Zatakia, National Vice-President, APAI, said the national executive committee of APAI proposed to ask the Government to constitute an aviation regulatory authority to look into issues such as the rationalisation of the sales tax on aviation turbine fuel which ranges from four per cent to 36 per cent from State-to-State.

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