(a) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that Tamil Nadu has less international connectivity in comparison to other smaller States and if so, the details thereof; and
(b) whether the Government has any proposal to consider hub and spoke model in Coimbatore and if so, the details thereof?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) & (b) Airlines are free to select whatever markets and network they wish to service and operate within the ambit of bilateral agreements. It is, therefore, upon the airlines to provide air services to specific places depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability. Chennai is available as a point of call to the designated carriers of more than 50 countries and designated carriers of 20 countries operated to/from Chennai as per Winter 2019 schedule.
;
The Indian carriers are free to mount services from any point in India including Coimbatore to international destinations available under bilateral agreements. Presently, non-metro points in the country are not being offered as points of call to foreign carriers and Indian carriers are being encouraged to provide services from non-metro points by using hub & spoke model or by operating directly to the foreign destinations from these points.