KANNUR: The flight inspection by the calibration flight at Kannur International Airport (KIAL) on Sunday was a success. A Dornier flight from HAL, Bengaluru reached KIAL in the morning and flew inspecting the signal systems of the airport. The flight flew 5,000 metres high for close to two hours and inspected the efficiency of the signalling equipment, Doppler Very High frequency omni range (DVOR).
“The inspection by calibration flight was a huge success paving the way for marking Kannur in the air radar,” said K.S. Shibu Kumar, KIAL Project Engineer (Civil). Air Traffic DGM, G. Pradeep of Airport Authority of India (AAI) overhauled the inspection. KIAL is expected to be open for air traffic by July. The state government had signed a tripartite agreement late in December 2017, along with Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India to start domestic flight services from KIAL under the Centre’s Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme, an effort to improve regional connectivity.
As per the agreement, the UDAN services would commence from KIAL from this year onward. The UDAN services would link small towns of the country. According to the agreement, the flight charges are expected to cost around Rs 2,500 per seat per hour. Weather played spoilsport in the construction works of the airport, many a time bringing the works to a standstill, said the officials. The land acquisition and land filling works are yet to be completed in many parts.
Once the airport becomes completely functional, it would also be beneficial to the people in Coorg. The viability of airport operations also depends on the plan to mobilise 43 per cent of revenues from non-aviation operations, as in the case of Cochin International Airport Ltd. The focus is on the huge untapped tourism potential of northern Kerala.
