History
Salem airport was constructed in April 1993 at a cost of Rs. 6 Crore covering a sprawling 136-acres extensively donated by local traders and industrialists. The airport was the first in the country built with the help of contributions from members of the public. A total of Rs. 49 lakh, including Rs. 30 lakh by Salem Steel Plant. Originally planned for Vayudoot services using small aircraft and conceived with a 1,350-metre runway, it was expanded by another 600 metres to accommodate bigger planes. Initially, NEPC Airlines operated flights on the Chennai-Salem-Coimbatore-Chennai sector using Fokker F-27 aircraft. however, the airline withdrew the service after three months citing ‘non-viability’ as its main reason. The Salem airport lay in disuse since then as no airline was willing to invest in this sector. Although the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had spruced up the airport and made it ready for operation, airlines did not show interest to fly fearing low patronage. In 2006, Air Deccan agreed to kickstart its Salem operations but only if the local industry deposited at least Rs 90 lakh or gave a commitment for 50% bookings. Meanwhile, Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines.
After a 3 year wait and prolonged negotiations, Kingfisher airlines commenced daily flights to Chennai using its ATR aircraft on 15 November 2009. The service was withdrawn on 28 October 2011, again citing poor patronage.
Read more about this topic: Salem Airport (India)
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