Coimbatore : The Kongu Global Forum (KGF) , a major platform of leading industrial associations of Western Region of Tamil Nadu, Friday said that despite having an International Airport, Coimbatore was neglected in Vande Bharatah Mission for September 2020 schedule.

Air India Express connects Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah with many cities in India this month in the Vande Barath Mission program and as per the schedule, number of Indian Cities connected from 3 Middle East destinations are Abu Dhabi-16 cities. Dubai-18 cities and Sharjah-10 cities.

Coimbatore International Airport has adequate infrastructure to handle these flights and it was included as one of the cities in the previous three months which was well patronized by the passengers in our region, KGF President, A Shakativel said in a representation to the Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri.

“It is disheartening to note that except Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam (Vizag) all the International airports in South India are included in this program,” he said.

Stating that Vizag has a hub and spoke facility for Air India in which International passengers arriving from abroad transiting any city in India can clear immigration and Customs, Shakativel said Coimbatore is the only international airport which is neglected in the Vande Barath Mission- September Schedule and also it is not a recognized airport in the Hub and Spoke model by the Centre.

In Spite of having an international Airport in Coimbatore, it is extremely difficult for passengers to reach western Tamil Nadu, comprising eight districts, especially
during this pandemic, the Forum said and requested the minister to look into this
issue at the earliest and help to connect with the rest of the world considering the economic significance of the Kongu region.