Airports Authority of India plans to install a special canopy at the airport here to help protect perishable export items like fruits and flowers from rains.
AAI Tiruchirapalli plans to erect a special Rs 38 lakh canopy before commencement of the monsoon season, a top airport official said.
"Over 90 per cent of export items include perishables such as fruits and flowers to overseas destinations like Colombo, Kuwait, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Seoul," Airport Director B C H Negi said.
Other products are textiles from Karur and Pudukottai and engineering goods by BHEL and other SMEs in Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Perambulur districts.
The airport, which is one of the oldest in the country, is also poised to surpass 12 lakh passengers. Barring one or two flights which operate domestic services, all other flights out of this airport are to overseas destinations.
Tiger Airways flights, that were suspended due to technical problems, will resume shortly. It would help exporters as they offer lot of space, he said.
The airport has also commissioned an Electronic Data Centre.
