Locals concerned over shifting of airport terminal

Oct 10

While the countdown for the commissioning of the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has begun on one side, on the other the golden days of a small region is coming to an end.

Scores of traders, lodge owners and autorickshaw and taxi drivers at Shanghumugham are quite concerned over the shifting of the international terminal to the Chakai side as it would be a major blow to their business. They are, however, pinning hopes on a proposal mooted by Thiruvanananthapuram MP and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor to retain international budget airlines at the existing international terminal.

“Our business fully depends on the passengers at the airport as well as those coming to see off or receive them. Hence shifting the international terminal from here would badly hit us,“ says Shaji who runs a small shop opposite to the Airport over the last four decades.

More than a 100 shops and about two dozen lodges make up the Shanghumugham junction, besides a couple of banks and travel agencies.

Besides the establishments, more than 60 autorickshaw drivers and a same number of taxi drivers are also concerned about their future. “Once the international operations are entirely shifted from here, Shanghumugham junction would become a deserted place. It would leave us in dire straits,“ says 61 year old Ashokan Nair, an autorickshaw driver at Shanghumugham for the last 30 years.

“The future is dark for the 60-odd auto drivers here,“ adds Pathrose Augustine, another autorickshaw driver of the locality.

It would be quite diffuclt for them to relocate to Chakai as many autos are already based there. Moreover, the new terminal is quite far from the main road than the existing one. Hence it would be quite difficult for autorickshaws to get rides unless they are allowed inside the new terminal premises, Pathrose says.

The Government and the officials concerned should show us a way to lead our life, they plead.


“It is going to be the second major blow for the lodges and other traders at Shamghumugham, after the one following the commissioning of the Nedumbaserry Airport,“ says Timothy Pereira, who earlier ran a lodge at Shamghumugham Junction.

Before the Nedumbassery Airport was commissioned, there used to be brisk business at Shanghumugham and many houses in the locality used to hire rooms on daily rent. ''But once the Nedumbaserry Airport came, there was considerable decline in our business and hence I closed my lodge a couple of years back. The situation is going to be the worst for traders and lodge owners once the entire internataional operations are shifted from here,'' says Timothy.

International passengers constitute about three-fourth of the total passengers at the airport.

Shashi Tharoor had recently written to the Civil Aviation Ministry proposing that the existing international terminal may be converted into a no-frills terminal as in many foreign countries. At present three budget airlines are operating from Thiruvananthapruam - Air India Express, Air Arabia and Air Asia. The Singapore-based budget airlines Tiger Airways is scheduled to commence services from Thiruvanananthapuram in November.

Ends.