Kerala - Kozhikode   

Demand to speed up airport work

KOZHIKODE: The Calicut International Airport Development Society (CIADS) will send a delegation to the State capital to take up matters relating to speeding up of work on the development of the airport.

Talking to the presspersons, CIAD spokesmen said there was delay in land acquisition for airport development. He said the growth in terms of air traffic was spectacular. As many as15 aircraft operate services from Karipur airport. Nearly 5,000 passengers use the airport to travel within the country and fly out to foreign countries by 54 services that operate daily from Karipur. Besides domestic airlines, foreign ones, including SriLankan Airlines, RAK Airways, Emirate, Air Arabia, Oman and Qatar Airlines operate from Karipur.

The CIADS spokesmen appealed to the government to take over 137 acres for developing airport facilities. Though the government had decided to acquire 162 acres, 25 acres where the density of population was high could be exempted from acquisition, the society said. He said the Cabinet had granted approval for land acquisition in October 2006. It was announced at the Kozhikode Town Hall on October 13, 2007 by Law Minister M.Vijayakumar, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran and Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem.

The airport had 12 emigration counters. However, only six were functional due to staff shortage. A delegation of representatives of the CIADS, Federation of North Kerala Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry would submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister and Ministers for Tourism and Revenue to highlight the airport’s plight.

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