Trivandrum Airlines Summit to Focus on South Kerala, Adjoining TN Districts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
For the first time in the country, Chief Executives of Indian and International Airlines and the local industry body are coming together on Friday to unveil the immense potential of the five southernmost districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as an emerging economic powerhouse and evolve strategies to enhance the air connectivity to meet the future growth of the region.

Organised by Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) here, top officials of 30-plus airlines, including Air India, Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara, Jet Airways, Air India Express, Emirates, Lufthansa, Air Arabia, Flydubai, Air Asia, Qatar Airways, SriLankan Airways, Maldivian Airlines, Scoot and Akasa Air, will attend the ‘TVM and Connectivity Summit.’

Dr Shashi Tharoor MP will chair the one-day Trivandrum Airlines Summit, which is primarily aimed at evolving a comprehensive strategy to enhance air connectivity to and from the State Capital Region (SCR).

Co-hosted by Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, Trivandrum Agenda Task Force (TATF) and Awake Trivandrum, the summit will be held on September 2 at Hotel ‘O’ by Tamara in the capital.

“Southern tip of India is brisk with economic activity, and is already on the cusp of a fast-paced transformation driven by ongoing big-ticket infrastructure Projects. Focus on the summit will be the State Capital Region (SCR) – Thiruvananthapuram, along with Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts, Southern Tamil Nadu comprising Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli, which together hold immense potential cutting across domains,” Dr Tharoor told a press conference here on Wednesday.

Noting that connectivity is a big challenge in the southern region, Dr Tharoor said Thiruvananthapuram is a saleable proposition considering its tourism and travel opportunities.

State Ministers, Members of Parliament from the region, top bureaucrats, business leaders, industry bodies, and prominent citizenry are among the select invitees.

“Increased connectivity is inevitable to realise the true potential that the 78-km-long Outer Area Growth Corridor (OAGC), next Phase development of Technopark, creation of a Knowledge Economy through Life Sciences Park and International Virology Institute, opening of large commercial outlets like those of Lulu Mall and Taurus, and Vizhinjam International Motherport, among others,” said S N Raghuchandran Nair, President of TCCI.

He said this is the first time industry and citizens come together to organise a connectivity summit in the country. “This is just a beginning and more such activities will be conducted in future.”

“The proposed IT Park at Kanyakumari, ISRO’s new Satellite Launch Pad at Tirunelveli, Trivandrum-Tirunelveli Industrial Corridor, etc. will boost traffic through the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. Kerala Tourism sector, which is in a revival mode post COVID 19, will add to the numbers,” he added.

Prabhat Kumar Mahapatra, Chief Airport Officer, International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram, Abraham Thomas (Joji), Secretary, TCCI; Sanal Lal, Joint Secretary, TCCI; K Srikant, Secretary, TATF; and Renjith Ramanujam, CEO, Awake Trivandrum also attended the press conference.