New Air Traffic Control tower at Tiruchi airport likely to be commissioned before this year end

The new multi-storeyed Air Traffic Control Tower-cum-Technical Block coming up at the Tiruchi International Airport is expected to be commissioned before this year end

The new multi-storeyed Air Traffic Control Tower-cum-Technical Block coming up at the Tiruchi International Airport is expected to be commissioned before this year end. 

The project is part of the upgrade of the non-metro Tiruchi airport which has more overseas flight services than domestic services. 

The construction of the Air Traffic Tower control-cum-Technical Block commenced in July 2023 with civil work under way at the project site. The construction of the multi-storeyed buildings to house the tower and the technical block separately are proceeding briskly with over 60% of civil work having been completed. The plan is to complete the civil work in three to four months, said airport authorities.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is implementing the project at a cost of ₹60.75 crore which includes electrical works in the upcoming new structures. The new Air Traffic Control tower with eight floors is being built in such a way which will enable the Air Traffic Controllers sitting atop to have a clear view of the airport area and its surroundings. The existing tower is at present functioning atop the old building. 

The technical work in the new tower and technical block would commence once the entire civil work is completed. Airport authorities said the new air traffic control tower-cum-technical block is expected to be commissioned before this year end. The non-metro Tiruchi international airport has direct flight connectivity to Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Muscat and Dammam operated by different overseas airlines. Domestic flights are operated to Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad from Tiruchi at present.

According to the Airports Authority of India statistics, the Tiruchi airport saw 6,793 international flights (arrival and departure put together) and 6,068 domestic flights (arrival and departure) between April and December this fiscal. 

The number of international flights were 8,222 (arrival and departure) between April 2023 and March 2024 while it was 5,883 in the case of domestic flights during the same period.