MADURAI: Madurai MP S Venkatesan on Thursday condemned the Union government for rejecting the proposal to include Madurai Airport as a Point of Call (POC) under the ASEAN bilateral tourism agreement.
In a statement, he said that despite submitting a request and meeting the Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu, the Centre replied that the selection of 18 Indian airports under the pact was a one-time policy decision, and that there was no plan to add Madurai. "Madurai has strong cultural and migration links with Southeast Asian nations, and airlines such as AirAsia, Batik Air, Air Arabia, and FlyDubai had earlier shown interest in operating direct flights. However, the absence of POC status prevented these services. As a result, Madurai continues to remain in the list of loss-making AAI airports every year," Venkatesan pointed out.
He criticised the Centre for listing airports like Khajuraho, which lack international facilities, while overlooking an airport like Madurai that is fully equipped for international operations. "ASEAN special agreement must be reviewed. The Union government denies the Madurai Metro Rail project and now neglects Madurai Airport too. This discriminatory approach towards Tamil Nadu is unacceptable," he said.