MP urges civil aviation ministry to do these three things for Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: DMK Rajya Sabha member P Wilson has urged the ministry of civil aviation to modernise all airports in Tamil Nadu, improve international connectivity from Madurai and speed up introduction of Udan flights to Vellore, Neyveli, Ramanathapuram and Thanjavur.
In his speech during zero hour on Wednesday, Wilson said, "A state like Tamil Nadu, which appears in the top three of any growth marker, deserves and requires world class airports."
"Chennai has the highest domestic and international traffic in the state. But the airport is far from modern, let alone international standard. Chennai’s airport should be on a par with Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru. Yet sadly, it is not. Chennai is thus losing business," he said
The ministry should expedite establishment of the planned second airport at Parandur with ultra-modern international facilities so as to make Chennai the commercial hub of South India, he added.
Pitching for development of other airports in the state, Wilson said, "Focus of the ministry is required not only for Chennai, but also Madurai, the second largest city in the state. Madurai is the gateway for 13 southern and central districts including Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari. These districts have a population of 2,32,93,738, which accounts for 29% of the state’s population. Every year lakhs of passengers travel from Madurai to foreign countries. However, due to lack of direct air connectivity to many other international destinations, tourism, export and economic growth have been stunted in the region."
As Madurai lacks adequate international connectivity, Chennai airport sees an explosion of traffic, he said.
"Non-inclusion of the Madurai airport as a point of call airport for other international destinations by the ministry has been preventing foreign airliners from operating direct services to Madurai. Several foreign airlines have already requested the civil aviation ministry to address this concern to which no actions have been taken yet. The airport lacks CISF staff and is not working around the clock. However, no steps have been taken in spite of repeated requests to make Madurai an international airport with facilities of imports and exports."
Cargo operations are also delayed due to customs, he added.
"The plights of Trichy and Coimbatore International airports also cause grave concern. As of now, these airports have a single runway. The Tamil Nadu government has time and again requested for the extension of Trichy airport runway. The terminal in Coimbatore is old and requires expansion."
He also wanted the ministry to speed up implementation of regional connectivity scheme by starting flights to the five airports in the state — Salem, Neyveli, Vellore, Ramanathapuram and Thanjavur.
"It has been five years since the Udan scheme was launched, but flight operations have begun only from Salem airport and there has been no progress in launching flights from the remaining three cities. There is no progress in the establishment of Hosur airport," he said.