At the Thiruvananthapuram international airport due to the operationalisation of the 69.2 crore  parallel  taxi track (PTT),its runway capacity has gone up from 20 flights an hour to 25 flights ..Airports Authority of India that manages the airport will be able to give permission to the domestic and foreign airlines that seek to operate more flights . The majority of the flights from the middle east arrive and depart  from the city so the facility to handle more flights will come handy for airlines. Hitherto, an aircraft which landed on the Vallakadavu side moved to the other end of runway at All Saints’ College to turn around to enter the path connecting the runway and the parking bay.The time occupied by an aircraft at runway was 10 to 15 mins on an average basis . During this process, an approaching aircraft had to go around or continue circling till the runway is cleared. The aircraft had to burn considerable amounts of fuel.As per the Airport Director George .C.Tharakan  the 1,853 m-long taxi track, constructed parallel to the 3,373-m runway, will reduce the time occupied by an aircraft after landing and facilitate an early exit for the flyers from the aircraft.The AAI  Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra commissioned the PTT. A Boeing 737-8000 aircraft of Air India Express from Muscat that landed after the operationalisation of the PTT was given a ‘water salute’ by the fire tenders of the AAI.