Coibatore Taxi News

Coimbatore: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) was on the job of modernising 35 airports across the country and 50 per cent of the works had been completed, said Chairman V.P. Agarwal on Thursday.

Mr. Agarwal was talking to reporters after inaugurating the parallel taxiway, additional parking apron and commissioned three new Austria-made sophisticated aircraft fire tenders.

Mr. Agarwal said modernisation of Tiruchirapalli and Vishakapatnam airports had been completed while works in Mangalore, Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Rajamundhry, Vijayawada and Cudappah were nearing completion.

Thirty five airports in the country had obtained ISO certification and a beginning was made by Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Air traffic services had been certified in Mumbai and New Delhi while four or five airports had obtained environmental certification.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that airport modernisations were as per ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) norms.

Though there was uncertainty over government nod for infrastructure bonds from AAI, Mr. Agarwal said private initial borrowing options were open and finance would never be a constraint for modernisation of airports. AAI with the consent of the Planning Commission for grants was planning to modernise smaller airports.

AAI also had plans for modernising 15 to 20 airports in states such as Orissa which has 21 airstrips and only one functional airport. India will have the honour of being the fourth country in international civil aviation map when the Space Augmentation System (SPAS) becomes operational in Bangalore for handling more aircraft in parallel. Trial of the system was in progress and implementation would be in 2013.Mr. Agarwal said civil aviation industry was growing at 30 per cent average.

Liberalisation and low cost carriers had fuelled the growth and owing to economic slowdown there was a dip of three per cent recently and the sector was recouping now, he said.

-The Hindu