The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility of Air India Charters here will become fully operational by February.
Mandatory clearance from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is awaited ahead of commencing ‘C’ checks of Boeing 737-800 aircraft of Air India Express.
MORE LAND
The MRO is situated within the precincts of the international airport here. Air India Charters has sought more land from the State to set up auxiliary industrial units in the form of a hub around the MRO.
This was stated by K.C. Venugopal, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, who chaired a high-level meeting here on Monday.
Venugopal said the MRO would be equipped to take up third party business although initially it will take care of the aircraft in the Air Indian Express (AIE) fleet.
“We are expecting an investment of Rs 2,500 crore in the MRO by 2020 and want more land to set up auxiliary units to supply spares,” he said.
Among those attending the meeting were Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor and State health minister V. S. Sivakumar, Chairman of Airports Authority of India V. P. Agrawal and top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and the AAI.
VISA ON ARRIVAL
Tourist Visa on Arrival (T-VoA) will be introduced at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport within a month.
“This airport alone from the State is in the list and the file is being processed at Ministry of Home Affairs as security issues are involved”, the Union Minister said.
Kerala will become the fifth gateway to India for holidaymakers from 11 countries who can get T-VoA. The international airport here will join Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as the select few authorised to issue visa on arrival.
The Union Minister for Civil Aviation said a road map had been prepared for overcoming the shortage of pilots in AIE.
All flights standing cancelled will be restored as the Union Ministry was hopeful of overcoming teething problems in four months.
Venugopal said the Civil Aviation Department does not have a ‘weapon to control airfares’. The DGCA has been asked to monitor the fares.
Keywords: maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Thiruvananthapuram, MRO facility for Air India Charters at Thiruvananthapuram,
