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Tamil Nadu
More CISF personnel for Tiruchi airport soon, says K.N. Nehru
CRUISING ALONG: Transport Minister K.N. Nehru (right) and Paramount Airways Managing Director M. Thiagarajan on board the airline’s inaugural Chennai – Tiruchi service on Monday.
TIRUCHI/CHENNAI: Paramount Airways launched its Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai service on Monday to some good tidings. State Transport Minister K.N.Nehru announced that the manpower shortage plaguing the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) unit at the Tiruchi airport would be over soon, clearing the way for introduction of more flights to the city.
“Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology A. Raja has discussed the matter with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Radhika Selvi. Additional personnel will be posted to the airport within a week. Improving air links to the city is imperative for the opening of the Information Technology Park too,” Mr. Nehru said after participating in a function to mark the launch of the service.
The CISF unit currently has 57 men and requires another 62 for three-shift deployment. Manpower constraint has hampered operation of additional flights to the city, especially during evenings.
Paramount Airways Managing Director M. Thiagarajan said the airline was waiting for the problem to be sorted out in order to introduce evening flights in the sector. “We would like to provide at least two flights a day in the sector.”
The airline became the third private operator to introduce flights between Chennai and Tiruchi. The daily flight will depart from Chennai at 9.45 a.m. and the journey will take about 30 minutes. Fares start at about Rs.3,000 (inclusive of surcharge and taxes). The flight would depart from Tiruchi at 10.45 a.m. Mr. Thiagarajan said the airline was confident of doing well in the sector though the Tiruchi market was considered cost-conscious.
“I am confident we will be able to attract customers by providing value for money. We are the market leader in South India with 26 per cent market share.”
The airline would foray into the western India sector with its Chennai-Pune service next month. By the year-end, it would launch the Chennai-Mumbai service. Two more aircraft would join its fleet of five planes by August.
On the issue of pricing of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), Mr. Thiagarajan hoped for an early decision from the Centre on the demand for rationalisation of the fuel cost. “We have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this. Though India is an ATF-surplus country and exports nearly 60 per cent of its production, the domestic price of the fuel is kept high due to cross-subsidies.”
The low cost model of airlines would suffer and fares would have to be hiked if there was no realistic pricing, he said.
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