Fears over the first full-fledged international flight from Madurai airport appear to be receding following assurances from SpiceJet, whose Colombo flight service was in doubt following the recent tension over the presence of Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu. The Madurai-Colombo flight service was seen as the one that would herald international connectivity for Madurai and the southern districts.
The Sri Lankan Government had issued a travel advisory warning its citizens to stay out of Tamil Nadu following incidents such as the stoning of a convoy of Sri Lankan pilgrims near Thajavur. B.S.G. Musthafa, president of Travel Club, told The Hinduhere on Tuesday that the vice-president (Commercial) of SpiceJet Airways, V. Raja, visited Madurai on Monday and assured travel agents that the Madurai airport’s first full-fledged international flight service, Madurai-Colombo-Madurai, would be operated as per schedule.
He also said that the inaugural flights in both directions were almost fully booked. Later in the evening, he also met the District Collector Anshul Mishra and invited him for the function scheduled to mark the inaugural flight.
Mr. Musthafa also added that senior officials from Sri Lankan travel agencies would come to Madurai shortly to meet their counterparts in the Temple City and hold discussions for promoting tourism between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. S. Rethinavelu, senior president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is also in the forefront of the campaign for getting international connectivity to Madurai, said that the tension seemed to be subsidising in the past few days. The chamber was taking a trade delegation of 50 members in the first flight itself to Sri Lanka to meet their counterparts, officials and Ministers to further improve bilateral trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.
The delegation would fully proceed with the programmes planned. The businessmen would look not only at opportunities for export-import activities but also explore the possibility of starting joint ventures with the Sri Lankan companies, he added.
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