Trichy Airport has ranked as the sixth busiest airport in India for passenger traffic to Southeast Asian countries in the 2023-24 financial year, with over 900,000 passengers handled. It now stands out as the busiest non-metro airport for this traffic, outperforming other similar airports.

Aviation enthusiasts and tourism stakeholders are urging airlines to designate Trichy as a connecting hub to Southeast Asia and to expand services, citing data from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airport currently operates 62 weekly flights to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Despite having limited services and a shorter runway that restricts wide-body aircraft, Trichy's impressive passenger numbers highlight the potential of routes to Southeast Asia. The high traffic volume is largely driven by a combination of migrant workers, trade, tourism, and strong cultural ties, especially among the Tamil diaspora from central regions, including the Cauvery Delta districts.

In the 2023-24 financial year, Trichy was the fourth busiest Indian airport for passenger traffic to Singapore (550,000 passengers) and third for Kuala Lumpur (340,000 passengers), outpacing several major international airports. Five metro airports—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata—handled more passenger traffic than Trichy to Southeast Asia.

The anticipated introduction of a new service to Bangkok from Trichy, following the discontinuation of the Trichy-Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) route, is expected to further enhance traffic. Given these passenger statistics, demand for new services from Trichy, especially from premium air carriers, is growing.

"It is high time Trichy airport is designated as a connecting hub to Southeast Asia. Air carriers can consider operating connecting flights from other non-metro airports like Kochi and Pune to support services to Malaysia and Singapore from Trichy. However, to achieve this, the frequency of services must be increased," said H Ubaidullah, an independent aviation analyst.

Frequent flyers, such as A R Yoagendran, have highlighted the urgent need for runway expansion to accommodate wide-body aircraft and address the rising demand for flights to Southeast Asia. "Current services to both Malaysia and Singapore from Trichy are insufficient," he noted. Stakeholders also propose that airlines explore a route connecting Trichy to Penang International Airport, Malaysia, which has a notable Tamil diaspora.