Air
Arabia has expressed its intention to operate its flights between Madurai and
Sharjah, Virudhunagar MP and Chairman of Madurai Airport Advisory Committee, B.
Manicka Tagore, said.
After attending a meeting with Air Arabia's Director (Network
and Strategy), Tony Whitby, Mr. Tagore said though the airline was ready to
operate its services, the commencement of services would be delayed as Madurai
airport was not included in the list of airports in the bilateral air services
agreement.
“The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has taken a re-look at the
bilateral air services agreement policy. It may take some more time for getting
approval from the Ministry. However, I will take up the issue with Union Civil
Aviation Minister Ajith Singh, and also with Union Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram,” Mr. Tagore said.
Airport Director K. Sangaiah Pandian expressed happiness over
the readiness of Air Arabia to fly from Madurai. “This shows that the attempts
made to project Madurai as a popular international terminal is going in the
right direction,” he said. Air Arabia was ready to fly an A320 flight daily
that could carry around 165 passengers, he added.
Senior president of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, S. Rethinavelu, who participated in the meeting along with B. S. G.
Mustafa and G. Vasudevan of Travel Club, was confident that there would be good
patronage for a direct flight from Madurai to Dubai and Sharjah. Chamber
president N. Jegatheesan, appealed to the Union Civil Aviation Minister for
immediate inclusion of Madurai airport in the two-way bilateral airport treaty
with the UAE. As an interim arrangement, Mr. Jegatheesan said the Civil
Aviation Ministry could permit Air Arabia to operate its service on temporary
seat rights allotment by allotting 2,532 seats per week.
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