The Hindu Business Line : Thiruvananthapuram to get Air India operational base

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 30 Air India, the brand under which the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) flies, will set up an operational base in Thiruvananthapuram.

This means that Air India flights out of Kerala can originate from the city and crew will be stationed here as well, said Mr V. Thulasidas the Chairman and Managing Director of NACIL which was formed by the merger of Air India and Indian.

The operational base will be in addition to Air India’s planned maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the city, he added.

In fact, part of the space meant for the MRO will be used for the operational base.

The airline decided to set up an MRO facility in Thiruvananthapuram only because the State Government offered it free land, he explained.

The airline is ready to start work on setting up the MRO facility as soon as the site is handed over to it, he added.

According to Mr Thulasidas, once work on the MRO facility starts, it will take about 12 months to complete.

The proposed MRO facility will be operated in association with Boeing and will service Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Mr Thulasidas termed as “totally erroneous” reports that Air India had deployed old aircraft for flights operating to and from Kerala.

He said Air India Express, which operates almost 50 per cent of its total flight to and from Kerala, uses B737-800 aircraft which were all new. The oldest aircraft being even less than three years old, he added.