Lok Sabha Question No. 4723 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-21
Subject: Point of Call Status to Tiruchirappalli Airport
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Shri Durai Vaiko

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 4723

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  21st August 2025 )

## POINT OF CALL STATUS TO TIRUCHIRAPPALLI AIRPORT

## 4723.    SHRI DURAI VAIKO Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  include  Tiruchirappalli  International  Airport  as  a Point of Call (PoC) in the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Tiruchirappalli  serves  as  a  major  international departure point for workers and residents from central and southern Tamil Nadu travelling to the Gulf region and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  number  of  BASAs  currently  in  effect  with  GCC  nations  and  the  Indian  airports designated as Points of Call under each agreement;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to revise existing BASAs or negotiate new ones with Tiruchirappalli designated as a PoC to improve direct connectivity and reduce dependency on other metro airports and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the timeline fixed and process for ensuring Tiruchirappalli's inclusion as a PoC in future bilateral aviation negotiations?

## ANSWER

## Minister  of  State  in  the  Ministry  of  CIVIL  AVIATION            (Shri  Murlidhar Mohol)

- (a) to (e) There is no proposal under consideration in this Ministry to include Tiruchirappalli as  a  Point  of  call  (PoC)  in  the  Bilateral  Air  Services  Agreements  (BASAs)  with  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.;

Currently,  Air  India  is  operating  flights  from  Tiruchirappalli  to  countries  in  GCC  namely Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai).;

India  has  BASAs  with  all  the  GCC  countries.  The  details  of  the  point  of  calls  designated under these agreements is at Annexure. ;

At  present,  the  Government  of  India  promotes  more  international  operations  by  Indian carriers from non-metro points, including Tiruchirappalli, either directly or through their own domestic operations. Accordingly, non-metro points are not granted as new points of call in the BASAs to any foreign country.

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## Annexure

| S No.   | Country             | Designated Points of Call for foreign carriers                                                                        |
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Bahrain             | Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Trivandrum, Cochin, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calicut, Goa                               |
| 2       | Kuwait              | Mumbai, Delhi, Trivandrum, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore                                  |
| 3       | Oman                | Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Trivandrum, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bangalore, Calicut, Goa                       |
| 4       | Qatar               | Mumbai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Cochin, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Calicut, Goa, Amritsar, Bangalore  |
| 5       | Saudi Arabia        | Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Lucknow                                                |
| 6 (i)   | UAE -Abu Dhabi      | Mumbai, Delhi, Trivandrum, Cochin, Chennai, Calicut, Jaipur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad                 |
| 6 (ii)  | UAE -Dubai          | Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Cochin, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Calicut, Lucknow                |
| 6 (iii) | UAE-Ras-al- Khaimah | Any 1 point out of Cochin, Trivandrum, Calicut                                                                        |
| 6 (iv)  | UAE -Sharjah        | Mumbai, Nagpur, Cochin, Jaipur, Trivandrum, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Delhi, Calicut, Hyderabad, Goa |

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