Plan to expand Coimbatore Airport

To keep pace with the spurt in air and passenger traffic, caused by the economic revival and the arrival of low-cost carriers, the Airports Authority of India is embarking on an expansion of the Coimbatore airport.

The terminal building is struggling to cope with the increasing passenger and aircraft movement. The passenger movement has registered 100 per cent growth compared to 2003-04. At present, there are 175 aircraft movements a week (one movement includes both landing and take-off). This includes 17 aircraft movements a day to and from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, six movements to and from Sharjah a week and 14 movements a month of a cargo freighter to and from Colombo.

To deal with the situation, the AAI plans to build three more parking bays. The airport has three parking bays besides an isolation bay. At peak hours, aircraft are made to hover for want of a parking bay. The parking bays get packed whenever an aircraft suffers a technical snag or an aircraft waits for a VVIP. The additional bays, costing Rs. 4 crore, will be opened within a month, say AAI sources.

Airport Director (in charge) R.S. D'Cruz told The Hindu that to cope with the growth and based on expression of interest by new airliners to start services, a proposal for an additional terminal building on an outlay of Rs 20 crore has been sent to the AAI. The process is expected to be faster because it does not involve land acquisition. The terminal to be exclusively earmarked for arrival will be roughly 50,000 square feet and will have two aerobridges to connect the departure and arrival lounges with the aircraft. Five escalators will be installed in both the terminal buildings. The entire work will be completed in two-three years. Once the administrative procedures are completed, tender will begin, the sources say.

The existing 8,500-foot runway (recently expanded from 7,500 feet) is enough to handle only aircraft of the Air Bus 320 type. Hence, it will be expanded by another 1,500 feet, so that it can handle the Jumbo 747 type of aircraft. The acquisition of 80.92 acres towards Avanashi Road is under way. The revenue administration has handed over 25 acres, and the rest is expected within a month.

Once the runway expansion is taken up, the AAI wants to upgrade the simple approach lighting system. Navigating lights for 600 metres will be provided for easy night landing, the sources say.

Courtesy : The Hindu