Commuters can fly in and out of Vellore, Thanjavur and Rameswaram by next year if the next milestone of the the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) is achieved.
The State government and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are keen to develop connectivity from these three towns and are working on a few more unserved airports connecting the hinterland, officials said.
Last week the officials of the State government and AAI held a meeting with the representatives of various air carriers at the airport here. “Vellore will be the first to be connected. It was inspected in December 2016 by the Airports Authority of India for testing the landing and other infrastructure developments. This airport has a 750-metre long runway and about 50 acres of land are available,” an AAI official said.
“The city’s potential has been underestimated. Thousands from north and east India visit the Christian Medical College Hospital alone. Then, there is Yelagiri, a hill station, and the Vellore Institute of Technology nearby. The runway will be ready in five months,” a government official said.
Rameswaram has been considered because of its tourist activity. It is one of the most visited places in the State, especially attracting domestic travellers, mainly pilgrims, from the northern parts of the country, officials said. Here, the Indian Navy’s air station at Uchipuli is being looked at, from where the city is a 45-minute drive away.
“Thanjavur has an Air Force station and there is a possibility of operating commercial flights from there,” an official said.
Recently, the secretary of civil aviation R.N. Choubey said he spoke to the Chief of Air Staff with regard to this airport and if some land could be exchanged with the Air Force, commercial flight operations could begin in Thanjavur soon, the official noted.
“Creating terminals may not be difficult in these towns. The primary task is to see how many airlines are interested in operating,” the official said.
ATR aircraft with a capacity of about 50 seats are likely to be operated from these towns.