TIRUCHY: Bettering its ranking from financial year 2022-23, Tiruchy emerged fourth in FY24 in terms of passenger traffic among airports in the country operating flights to and from Singapore. The Tiruchy-Singapore sector was ranked fifth in FY23, officials said.
As per data available with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Delhi topped the list, followed by Mumbai. Chennai came third while Bengaluru secured fifth place. A total of 17 international airports in the country operate flights to and from Singapore.
These include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Kochi, Madurai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam and Tiruchy. During FY24, all 17 airports handled 51.37 lakh passengers to and from Singapore.
Tiruchy's share of the passenger traffic accounted for 10.8%, officials said. Scoot Air, Air India Express and Indigo Airlines operate 35 services per week (five per day) in the Singapore-Tiruchy sector. According to airline sources, almost all the flights witness more than 80% occupancy.
In regard to airports in Tamil Nadu operating flights to Singapore, Chennai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Madurai collectively handled 15.71 lakh passengers during FY24. Tamil Nadu's share of the nationwide passenger traffic to Singapore was 30.38%, they added.
On the rankings, H Ubaidullah, an aviation enthusiast, remarked that the status of overseas employment has shifted, with more people now travelling to southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, in addition to Gulf countries. "Ethnic connections are a significant factor in the traffic in the sector.
Several people from Tamil Nadu, particularly from the delta region, who have settled in Singapore, frequently visit the state for pilgrimages and social gatherings. Several Tamils are also engaged in business in Singapore," he added.
Mentioning passenger traffic in the Tiruchy-Singapore sector witness to an ever-increasing graph, G Gopalakrishnan, officiating director of Tiruchy international airport, told TNIE, “We are making all efforts to bring more international and domestic flights.”