Tiruchirappalli International Airport Tiruchirappalli International Airport or Trichy International Airport (IATA: TRZ, ICAO: VOTR) is an international airport serving Tiruchirapalli metropolis in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is on National Highway 210 connecting Tiruchirapalli with Rameswaram and is 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the city center. Trichy airport is one of the fastest growing international airports in India. The airport is the third largest in the state in passenger and cargo traffic after Chennai International Airport and Coimbatore International Airport. The airport is ISO 9001:2008 quality certified. Tiruchirappalli Airport was declared an international airport on 4 October 2012 and the same was notified by AAI on 22 October 2012. History This airport was established by the British during World War II and was primarily used by the British Airforce during the world wars. Damaged aircraft that landed at the airport were taken to a workshop in Ponmalai, 2 km away, repaired and brought back into service. The airport was given permission for civilian operations after the war ended Air Ceylon (Srilankan Airlines) began operations in the late 1940s while Indian started services in the 80s. The airlines operated flights from Trichy to Colombo through Jaffna. This was a Customs Airport until 4 October 2012, when it was given an International Airport status by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Indra ATS Automation system was installed at Trichy in April 2012 to help air traffic control increase safety and security. Timeline • 1936 — First airmail for Colombo from India was carried by the TATAs Goodwill Flight, piloted by H.D. Barucha on 23 December 1936, which took off from Bombay for Colombo after stopping at Hyderabad, Madras and Trichinopoly. • 1941 — A regular service on the Bombay - Trivandrum - Tirchinopoly route, which had been stopped, was resumed on 4 November 1941. • 1947 — Ceylon government asked permission of the Indian government for the operation of thrice weekly flights between Colombo and Trichinopoly. • 1948 — Trichinopoly Aerodrome was given an improvement for full functioning. The Government of India suggested the operation of Air Ceylon Service to Trichinopoly, as long as there were no other Indian airline operating services on the Trichinopoly - Madras route. the airline carried mail and freight on this sector. • 1948 — Air Ceylon inaugurated a regular weekly commercial service between Colombo and Karachi on 3 December 1948, using a Dakota flight with passengers through Trichinopoly and Bombay. Terminals The airport has two adjacent terminals. The integrated international terminal is used for international and domestic air traffic. The old terminal has been converted into an international cargo complex. The 4,000 m2 (43,000 sq ft) cargo complex was commissioned for operations on 21 November 2011. Passenger terminal The new integrated passenger terminal built at cost of 80 crore (US$13 million) was inaugurated on 21 February 2009 and started operations from 1 June 2009. The two-story terminal has a floor area of 11,777 m2 (126,770 sq ft). The terminal is designed to handle 470 passengers at a time. Some of the features of the new terminal include: • 20 check-in counters • 6 Custom counters (2 departure + 4 arrival) • 16 Immigration Counters (8 departure + 8 arrival) • 3 Conveyor belts (47 m (154 ft) each) • 1 Baggage assistance counter • 1 Health officer counter • 5 X-ray scanner for baggage (3 for registered baggage and 2 for hand baggage) • Security check units = 2 • 210 CISF strength • Total aircraft stands = 7 o 3 for code D aircraft o 4 for code C aircraft The new terminal has two lounges, VIP lounge managed by AAI and commercial important persons (CIP) lounge also managed by AAI. Cargo terminal The old terminal was converted into an international cargo complex at a cost of R10 million. The 4,000 m2 (43,000 sq ft) cargo complex was commissioned for operations on 21 November 2011 The Central Board of Excise and Customs had earlier approved and notified the airport as an air cargo complex. The one-time holding capacity of the cargo terminal is 250 metric tonnes The airport is the gateway for foreign export as there is no easy way for export from the central region of Tamil Nadu. On 11 October 2013, a five-metric ton capacity cold storage facility was inaugurated at the cargo section. This facility will be helpful during flight delay, flight cancellation, advance booking and holiday bookings of cargo. Special facilities • State-of-the-art X-Ray scanning system • Embedded electronic weighing scale • Precision scale • Strong room for valuable cargo • Trained and certified officer for accepting and handling dangerous goods • Cold room for perishable cargo to take care of advance booking/flight delays • Forklift for heavy cargo • Dangerous goods shed Runway Trichy Airport initially had two intersecting runways. The shorter 4,776 ft (1,456 m) feet long runway 15/33 with PCN 15F/B/W/T was closed and is now used as an alternative taxiway to the international apron. The current runway under use 09/27 is 8,136 ft (2,480 m) long with a PCN 40 F/B/W/T and has turning pads at both ends. The asphalt runway has a CA-1 ILS (Runway 27 only) and runway edge-lights. The other landing aids include a PAPI, HIRL, AFL and SAPL. Expansion Tiruchirapalli Airport has been in expansion mode since 2004. The runway was extended from 6,000 ft (1,829 m) to 8,136 ft (2,480 m), apron expanded to hold 10 aircraft, fire station upgraded, a new taxiway and integrated passenger terminal were constructed. The proposed Phase 2 expansion on 510 acres (2.1 km2) by AAI includes extending the runway to 12,500 ft (3,810 m), construction of modern air traffic control (ATC) tower, additional building complex and other works. The state government has agreed to provide land free to AAI for the expansion. Trichy is one of the non-metro airports selected for 200 crore (US$33 million) city side development on public-private partnership model. Recent progress The AAI has sought around 510 acres of land for the current expansion. Of the total about 188 acres are dry land, 116 acres wetland, 164.68 acres defense land, 40.59 acres wasteland and 5.80 is with Hindu religious and Charitable Trust. To facilitate fast process on airport expansion a joint technical advisory committee involving the departments of agriculture, public works department and revenue had been formed chaired by P. Kumar, Trichy MP. The district administration has formed a special team comprising the airport director, revenue divisional officer, joint director of agriculture, officials of Public Works Department, and other agencies concerned to expedite the land acquisition process. According to the committee, the land acquisition is decided to be carried out in three phases. In the first phase the lands on either side of the existing runway is to be acquired immediately. In the second phase, acquisition of wet and dry land could be taken up. In the third phase the defence land could be acquired In 2012, it was decided to acquire the defense land first, as there is consistent agitation from the farmers for acquiring farm lands; later on the remaining lands would be acquired. Runway extension Considering the growing potential of Trichy airport AAI has decided to expand the runway to around 10,500 ft (3,200 m) initially from the existing 8,136 ft (2,480 m) and later to 12500 feet. It has sought land to the state government and still the response is awaited and once land has been sought the expansion would take place. The district administration has expressed its willingness to pay the market price for the land to be acquired. Terminal expansion Due to the consistent increase in the air traffic, the integrated passenger terminal building having a total floor area of 11,777 m2 (126,770 sq ft) to handle 470 peak-hour passengers has become insufficient. Hence the Ministry of Civil Aviation has initiated the action to expand the terminal by constructing additional 17,920 m2 (192,900 sq ft) area to enhance the passenger handling capacity to 1075 peak-hour passengers. After the expansion the total terminal size would be 29,697 m2 (319,660 sq ft). Apron expansion AAI has gone for the extension of apron and construction of ramp equipment area measuring 2,800 sq ft. at an estimated cost of Rs. 20 million The construction work is in the final stages and the airport authority is waiting for the nod of Director General Civil Aviation for commissioning the seventh bay along with the apron area. Further action has been initiated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to expand the apron to provide two more aircraft bays, increasing the bays count to nine. Cargo shipments Trichy airport cargo terminal had handled 4,773 tonnes of cargo in the financial year 2013-14 and had registered a growth of 63 percent, of which the imports accounted for 58 tonnes. Air Asia, Air India Express, SriLankan Airlines and Tiger Airways are handling the cargo movements by its passenger aircraft. SriLankan Airlines has maintained its lead as the single largest exporter of cargo from Trichy. The carrier exported a total of 1,429 tonnes for the 2011-12 fiscal year. Cargo Handling at Tiruchirapalli International Airport Year Cargo Handled (Tonnes) YoY Growth (Percentage) 2012-13 2920 44 2013-14 4773 63 The ministry of finance has notified Trichy airport for international courier cargo movement through its letter 74 of 2013 dated 12 July. Through this facility now the courier firms can send their parcels and letters through the airport. The formal issue of notification by Trichy customs commissioner is expected soon. Airlines and destinations Airlines Destinations Air Asia Kuala Lumpur Air India Express Chennai, Dubai, Singapore JetKonnect Chennai Malindo Air Kuala Lumpur Sri Lankan Airlines Colombo Tigerair Singapore Pilot training centres The airport is home to a flying training academy promoted by the VKN Group, operating out of a 10,000 sq. ft. plot on the airfield with five glass cockpit equipped four seater Cessna 172 R aircraft. The academy provides training for two types of licence: • Commercial Pilot License (CPL) • Private Pilot License (PPL) Maintenance • Air Works has line maintenance facility to conduct transit checks on Airbus A320 type aircraft, which is the second one opened by them next to their Bangalore facility. It was opened on behalf of Singapore-based Tiger Airways for its aircraft maintenance. • The low-cost carrier Air India Express has an engineering stores complex for service and repairs of its aircraft. It would help quick turn around. Repair works could be carried out here. Initially four licensed engineers and eight technicians are posted to meet the service and repair requirements of the aircraft. The stores would have adequate spares and equipment.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 09:24:09 +0000
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