Direct flight service from Coimbatore to Dubai is one of the city's long-pending requests to the government. Passengers and Industry associations made this request more than a decade ago.

An online campaign urging for the service was launched by various groups concerned about Coimbatore’s development, on X platform in the middle of 2023, and the same was widely published on print and digital platforms. However the request has not met with favorable answers so far.

As per latest reports, Coimbatore International Airport Director, Senthil Valavan has said that no airline has come forward to start Coimbatore -Dubai flight service.

While answering about the pending expansion of the airport, he reportedly said that Airport Authority of India has not made any final call on taking the land acquired by the State Government in Coimbatore.

It is believed that the AAI is hesitating to take the land due to the condition laid by the Tamil Nadu Government.

TN Govt. has acquired more than 550 acres of land for expanding the airport, and has said that it is ready to hand over the lands to AAI if it assures that the land will not be leased, sub-leased or transferred to other entities. 

This condition, according to the Tamil Nadu government is only fair, as it has paid premium market prices to acquire the lands from owners, and it argues that the land of the people should either stay with the government or with them, and not with anyone else.

Back in April 2023, Tamil Nadu Minister PTR said that the State Government had declined AAI’s suggestion that they should have the right to sub-lease the land to a private operator (at the concessional lease rent) without our consent (and at the token value lease payment).