COIMBATORE: Kongu Global Forum (KGF), an association of representatives from the business community of seven districts of Western part of Tamil Nadu, on Thursday sought a directn flight from Coimbatore to Dubai and Delhi and also to elevate the airport to the hub-and-spoke model.

In a memorandum to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola, KGF said that a direct flight to Dubai will offer immense business potential for Air India, since it can cater to the sizeable ethnic population of this region working there besides the large number of tourists for whom Dubai is a preferred holiday destination.

Elevating Coimbatore Airport to the hub-and-spoke model will facilitate seamless travel for all the passengers travelling to Europe and beyond and Delhi being the hub of Air India it is but relevant that Coimbatore is connected to it as an important spoke, KGF Chairman A. Shaktivel said.

These seven business districts have huge business connections and bilateral trade with Europe and UK with immense potential for passengers to travel to Europe, the US and the UK for business and direct flight to Delhi from Coimbatore in the morning to reach before 10.30 a.m. will connect to eight destinations in Europe – Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Rome, Milan, Copenhagen and Stockholm and two destinations in United Kingdom – London and Birmingham. Shanghai, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok, Singapore, Kabul, Kathmandu, Jeddah and many more North Indian cities, he said.

Seeking a direct flight to Chennai and Bengaluru to reach before 8.30 a.m. which will help business travellers to be able to attend to their engagements in the morning without having to spend the previous night in a hotel, Shaktivel also requested for a one stop flights to Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

These flights will minimize the transit time to these business destinations, since there is a sizeable population belonging to Gujarati, Marwari, Bengali and Telugu community, he pointed out.

Wholeheartedly appreciating the efforts of the region evincing keen interest in the development of the region, Kharola has promised to consider various possibilities of fulfilling the proposals, Shaktivel said.