Kerala
should exploit the immense opportunities in the aviation sector brought
about by rapid changes in the aviation scenario and the construction of
the fourth international airport at Kannur, Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy said.
Speaking
after laying the foundation stone for a Academy complex of the Rajiv
Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology (RGAAT), near the new
international terminal of Thiruvananthapuram international airport, and
Air India's Aircraft Maintenance Base at Chakka on Wednesday, the Chief
Minister said the youth should be trained to tap the opportunities. The
government would provide all support to youth who were willing to take
up a career in aviation and associated fields, he said.
Airstrips
The
airstrips proposed in the budget for the districts that do not have
airports and the commissioning of the airport at Kannur would further
change the scenario, he said. Mr. Chandy said the three international
airports in the State, Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumbaserry, and Karipur,
were faring well.
Presiding
over the function, Minister for Forests and Sports K.B. Ganesh Kumar,
who is the chairman of the academy, said the government would make the
academy an international pilot training centre. It would be open to
those who want to take a full-time career in flying.
The
Minister called upon the students to cooperate with the authorities to
make the academy world-class. Funds would not be a problem for the
development of the academy, he said adding that the firm that had been
entrusted with the work of the complex had been told to complete it in a
time-bound manner.
The
new aircraft to be acquired by the academy would also be used for
disaster management in addition to providing training to pilot students.
The government hoped to use the proposed air strips in the districts
for the use of aircraft for emergencies.
Minister
for Transport and Devaswom V.S. Sivakumar; Air Marshall S.P. Singh, Air
Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Air Command; Principal Secretary,
Transport, Tom Jose; executive vice-chairman of RGAAT V. Thulasidas;
Airport Director G. Chandramouli; and councillor B. Padmakumar; spoke.
No comments:
Post a Comment