Technical landing facility started at Kochi, for aircraft refuelling
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KOCHI: For the first time, the Kochi Airport has started preparing a technical landing facility for refuelling flights operating on nearby international flight routes. Kochi airport is one of the major airports in the Indian subcontinent and can meet the technical requirements of aircraft up to the Code E category, with an in-built hydrant fuel system to meet the rapid turnaround requirement of international airlines.
In the last three days, nine flights flying either the Colombo-Europe sector or the Colombo-Middle East sector have 'uplifted' 4,75,000 litres of ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) from the Kochi airport, opting for the airport's technical landing capacity.
As the fuel crisis worsened in Sri Lanka, flights from the Middle East to Colombo or flights from Colombo to the Middle East/European destinations began to take advantage of Kochi Airport's route proximity.
The quick response of Kochi airport authorities in terms of efficient apron management by providing a fuel hydrant system ensured that more flights could be accommodated without affecting scheduled operations, according to the New Indian Express.
On 29 June, six Sri Lankan Airlines flights to Sharjah, London (Heathrow) and Frankfurt, two Air Arabia flights to Abu Dhabi and one Jazeera Airways flight to Kuwait (all flying from Colombo) made use of the technical landing facility of the airport.
"Foreseeing 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 potential,'' said Kochi airport managing director S Suhas.
Around the world, there are many airports that do more business with technical landings than normal operations. The system established at Kochi airport can serve more airlines, either a scheduled stopover or any unscheduled technical stopovers. The company has started discussions with airlines to avail of this facility.