The long wait of
southern residents and trade bodies in the region for international
connectivity to Madurai Airport, which boasts of a new Rs.130-crore integrated
terminal, is about to end soon as the Sri Lankan national carrier Mihin Lanka
is likely to commence operations from Colombo to Madurai in September.
Sri Lankan Civil
Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne assured a delegation from the Travel Club
that the low cost carrier was likely to launch its operations in the coming
winter season, G. Vasudevan, past president of the Travel Club, toldThe
Hinduhere on Friday.
The assurance came at
the end of a meeting with a Travel Club delegation led by current president B.
S. G. Musthafa on Wednesday during which the members gave a detailed
presentation on the market potential for Madurai-Colombo flight from the nine
southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
The delegation also
met the senior officials of Mihin Lanka including its Head of Operations Rohana
Perera who informed them that the carrier was in the final stages of commencing
operations to Madurai.
Dr. Vasudevan said
that Madurai airport has already been declared as ‘Customs Ready’ by the Union
Ministry of Finance way back in January 2011 itself.
“This flight service,
when it materialises, will give a great economic boost to the
industrially-backward southern districts of Tamil Nadu and also commercially
benefit the Sri Lankan airliner. This could also be a precursor to the region
getting more international flights, which are a must for industrial growth,” he
said.
The delegation also
met leading tour operators of Sri Lanka to promote tourism from Colombo to
Madurai and vice-versa.
Travel Club also
invited them to Madurai for a joint meeting of tour operators and travel agents
to explore the possibility of promoting tourism between the two countries. They
have accepted the invitation and dates for their visit to Madurai would be
finalised soon.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3561375.ece
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