CIAL starts technical landing facility for refuelling of planes; 9 Colombo flights landed in 3 days

Since June 29, six flights operated by Sri Lankan Airlines bound to Sharjah, London Heathrow and Frankfurt, two flights operated by Air Arabia to Abu Dhabi and one flight operated by Jazeera Airways bound to Kuwait all flying out from Colombo used the technical landing facility of CIAL, the statement said.CIAL Managing Director S Suhas said the managements prompt response and adaptability to changing situations have helped connect with the foreign carriers and make available its fuel hydrant system to tide over a commercial aviation crisis.

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on Saturday said it has started facilitating technical landing for refuelling of flights operating in the nearby international air route. Having established itself as a major airport in the Indian sub-continent and capable of addressing technical requirements for aircraft up to Code E category, the in-built hydrant fuelling system at Cochin Airport meets the quick turnaround requirement of international carriers, it said in a statement here.

The technical landing facility is being done for the first time in the history of Kochi airport. The last three days saw 9 aircraft flying either in Colombo-Europe or Colombo-Middle East sectors opting for Cochin airport's technical landing capability and uplifted 4,75,000 litres of ATF from Kochi airport, it said.

With the fuel crisis in Sri Lanka looming large, airlines bound to Colombo from the Middle East or flying out from Colombo to the Middle East/ European destinations started using the route proximity advantage of Cochin airport. Quick response by CIAL in terms of efficient apron management by making available a fuel hydrant system for such a requirement, more aircraft could effectively be accommodated on the apron without affecting scheduled operations in any way. Since June 29, six flights operated by Sri Lankan Airlines bound to Sharjah, London Heathrow and Frankfurt, two flights operated by Air Arabia to Abu Dhabi and one flight operated by Jazeera Airways bound to Kuwait (all flying out from Colombo) used the technical landing facility of CIAL, the statement said.

CIAL Managing Director S Suhas said the management's prompt response and adaptability to changing situations have helped connect with the foreign carriers and make available its fuel hydrant system to tide over a commercial aviation crisis. ''When we have foreseen the change in fuel distribution dynamics in the region, we upped the ante by recalibrating our apron management systems. Now more airlines have started contacting us and we are sure that this will boost our revenue potentials,'' added Suhas.

There are many airports in the world doing more business in technical landing compared to regular operations. The system established at Cochin Airport has the potential to serve more airlines, whether for a planned stopover or for any unplanned technical stopovers, the company said. CIAL said it has started discussions with airlines using this flying route offering to make use of its facility.

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