5 months ago
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Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP for Dakshina Kannada, said that MIA is the main aviation gateway for coastal Karnataka and adjoining regions of Kerala, raising the request for an urgent assistance of Point of Call (PoC) presumption to Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) successful the Lok Sabha connected Wednesday.
The MP said that the airdrome registered implicit 15 % yearly maturation successful 2024-25 by handling astir 23.4 lakh passengers, including 7.15 lakh planetary passengers, with implicit 16,800 craft movements. “This intelligibly demonstrated its rising strategical and commercialized importance,” helium said.
He said that the Tulu Nadu portion has a ample overseas workforce, peculiarly successful West Asia, that relies heavy connected Mangaluru for planetary travel. However, the lack of PoC presumption prevents overseas carriers from operating nonstop planetary services, forcing passengers to transit done Bengaluru oregon Kochi, resulting successful higher costs, longer question times, and avoidable inconvenience for the diaspora.
Capt. Chowta remarked that granting PoC presumption to MIA would alteration nonstop planetary connectivity, grow hose operations, and importantly easiness question for overseas workers and their families. Such connectivity would enactment arsenic a catalyst for commercialized and investment, supporting cardinal determination industries specified arsenic marine exports, arecanut, cashew processing, and petrochemicals, portion complementing the maturation of the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Improved planetary entree volition further boost tourism, education, and people-to-people exchanges, facilitating easier question for students, researchers, and visitors to premier institutions specified arsenic NIT-K, Surathkal and Manipal Institute of Technology.
Capt. Chowta urged the Minister of Civil Aviation to see the beardown rider demand, economical potential, and determination value of Mangaluru and to accord Point of Call presumption to MIA astatine the earliest.
It whitethorn beryllium mentioned present that Capt. Chowta met Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister for Civil Aviation, successful Delhi successful December 2024 and requested him to assistance PoC to MIA. Later, U.T. Khader, Speaker, Legislative Assembly, excessively sought PoC presumption to MIA by penning to Mr. Naidu connected June 27.
However, successful a written reply to an unstarred question by Capt. Chowta successful the Lok Sabha connected February 6, Murlidhar Mohol, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said, “...At present, the Government of India promotes much planetary operations by Indian carriers from non-metro points (airports) either straight oregon done their ain home operations. Accordingly, caller non-metro points, including Mangaluru, are not being granted arsenic PoC successful the Air Services Agreement (ASA) to immoderate overseas country”.
