Following the expression of interest by a number of foreign countries and airlines to operate flights via Coimbatore, the local chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made an appeal to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju to include the industrial city in the Bilateral Traffic Rights list.

The Chamber’s president, D. Nandakumar said in the memorandum that Coimbatore is not among the 18 Indian cities on the list. Among the airlines that are keen on running direct flights to Coimbatore are Air Asia, Tiger Airlines, and Fly Dubai.

The Chamber has also requested that urgent steps be taken to extend the airport’s security area to 150 metres instead of the current 75 metres.

Coimbatore currently has direct flights to Sharjah (twice a week) and Singapore (thrice a week).