Trichy airport emerges busiest non-metro gateway to Southeast Asia

TRICHY: Trichy Airport has emerged as the sixth busiest airport in India for passenger traffic to Southeast Asian countries in the 2023-24 financial year, handling over 9 lakh passengers. It is now the busiest non-metro airport for passenger traffic to Southeast Asia, surpassing other similar airports.Aviation enthusiasts and tourism stakeholders are urging airlines to designate Trichy as a connecting hub to Southeast Asia and expand services, based on data from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airport currently operates 62 flights per week to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.Despite limited services and a shorter runway that restricts wide-body aircraft, Trichy's impressive passenger numbers underscore the potential of the Southeast Asian route. The high passenger traffic is attributed to a mix of migrant workers, trade, tourism, and cultural ties, particularly among the Tamil diaspora from the central region, including the Cauvery Delta districts.In the 2023-24 financial year, Trichy ranked fourth among Indian airports for passenger traffic to Singapore (5.5 lakh passengers) and third for Kuala Lumpur (3.4 lakh passengers), outpacing several international airports. Five metro airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata have handled higher passenger traffic than Trichy with Southeast Asia.The introduction of a new service to Bangkok from Trichy is expected to boost traffic further, following the discontinuation of the Trichy-Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) route. With such passenger statistics, the demand for new services from Trichy airport, particularly from the premium air carriers has grown louder."It is high time Trichy airport is designated as a connecting hub to Southeast Asia. Air carriers can consider operating connecting flights from other non-metro airports like Kochi and Pune to feed services to Malaysia and Singapore from Trichy. But to do so, the existing frequency of services must be increased," H Ubaidullah, an independent aviation analyst, told TOI.Frequent flyers, like A R Yoagendran, have emphasized the need for runway expansion to accommodate wide-body aircraft and meet the growing demand for flights to Southeast Asia. "Existing services to both Malaysia and Singapore from Trichy are not adequate," he said. Stakeholders also suggest airlines consider a route connecting Trichy to Penang International Airport, Malaysia, which has a significant Tamil diaspora population.