Kozhikode: Airport's still a dream

Kozhikode: With the Airport Authority of India (AAI) raising new demands to allow widebodied aircraft to operate at the Calicut International Airport including the widening of the runway, it has been almost clear that the airport would remain closed to large aircraft.

The airport is located in Malappuram district and the political leadership there is allegedly not interested in its expansion.

The urge to own a state-of-the-art international airport has been a point of discussion among movers and shakers of the city for almost a decade.

The recent letter from Airport Authority of India has made it clear that without expansion of the runway no larger aircraft could be allowed.

In 2011, V. P. Agarwal, then chairman of AAI, had expressed willingness to conduct a feasibility study on the demand for a new international greenfield airport in Kozhikode district if the state government comes up with the proposal.

Malabar Development Council chairman C.E. Chakkunni said the new demands including increasing the runway to 13,000 feet, distance to apron to runway 182 .5 metre (now 154.62 metres) and increasing width 300 metres (now 150 metres) is a clear signal that without expansion no big aircraft would operate here.

The length of the airport runway is 9,380 feet and AAI was demanding 12,500 ft.  For ensuring the complete expansion, 450 acres of land is required.

Mr Chakkunny said that discussions were on with AAI officials as well state government on the possibility of a second airport in Kozhikode district. “Two companies one based in Hyderabad and another headquartered in Singapore had already expressed willingness to invest in the project,” he said.

“The committee constituted for conducting a primary study for the airport had identified 2,150 acre land for the airport and AAI experts who examined the land also had expressed satisfaction,” he added.

Meanwhile, an official at the AAI told this paper that the users’ fee of Rs 2,000 crore so far collected from passengers by the International Airport Development Society for expansion works of the airport is with AAI which can be used for setting up a new airport.