When Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju passed through Coimbatore in mid-September members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Coimbatore (ICCIC) met him at the airport here and submitted a memorandum, seeking his attention to issues related to Coimbatore airport developmental projects.

But this time, ICCIC members flew to New Delhi to reiterate their demand. The issues remain the same.

ICCIC President D Nandakumar in his submission recalled the need for including Coimbatore in Bilateral Traffic Rights. “There are 18 cities (including Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu) included in the list. As Coimbatore does not figure in the list, foreign airliners such as Air Asia, Tiger Airlines, and Fly Dubai, which are ready to operate flights to and from Coimbatore are unable to do so,” he said and urged inclusion of this textile hub in the list.

He further appealed to the Minister to include Coimbatore in the Asian Air Transport Agreement for operation of flights by foreign airliners.

And not just foreign airliners, Nandakumar said Air India operated only one flight from Mumbai to Kozhikode via Coimbatore. He appealed for the operation of international flights by Air India either directly or hopping, particularly to Gulf countries as also to Delhi via Chennai/ Bangalore/ Hyderabad, for passenger and cargo movement.

The other issues included the need for a permanent licence for Coimbatore airport and speedy completion of airport expansion projects.

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