COIMBATORE: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said that the central government is working to establish two new small airports in Tamil Nadu at Neyveli and Vellore.
"These two are small airports with small runways. For Neyveli, most of the work is done, and the project has been submitted for licensing to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Once the DGCA grants approval, operations can begin. At Vellore, the boundary wall construction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2026, after which the airport can proceed toward operational readiness," he said.
Addressing Coimbatore Airport's expansion, he said the Prime Minister has a special focus on the city as Coimbatore is one of India's fastest-growing urban centres. "Earlier delays were caused by challenges in land allocation by the state government, which has been addressed now. The new terminal will grow from the current 18,000 sq metres to 75,000 sq metres, with a projected annual passenger footfall of up to 1.5 crore in the next 20 years. The project carries a budget of Rs 2,100 crore and targets completion by the end of 2028."
The minister also stressed the need for better international links, especially to Dubai, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Western countries. "This is a broader challenge shared by many airports and depends on bilateral air service agreements between nations. The government aims to develop more aviation hubs and support Indian carriers to achieve this," he said.
To increase the competition in the aviation sector, the government has approved three new private airlines, he said. Emphasising the importance of expanding the number of carriers and finding ways to link them with aircraft leasing mechanisms to bring more planes into India's aviation ecosystem, he said, currently India operates around 840 planes, but demand exceeds this, with orders pending for 1,700 more planes. Acquiring additional planes, particularly wide-body models for international routes, will enhance connectivity to cities like Coimbatore and attract more airlines," he said. He added that the Ministry of Defence has withheld approval for a proposed airport at Hosur due to its proximity to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Bengaluru and the need to reserve airspace for aircraft testing and defence activities.
Regarding the Parandur airport project near Chennai, the minister clarified that it is driven by the Tamil Nadu state government. The union government has provided in-principle approval to proceed, but the state must handle land acquisition and decide who is going to develop the airport.
Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu, along with Union Ministers L Murugan and Muralidhar Mohol, inaugurated various passenger-centric initiatives, including the UDAAN Yatri café and Digi Yatra gates at Coimbatore International Airport on Friday.