There is some good news for air passengers from Malabar travelling to the Gulf nations via the Calicut International Airport as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is considering a proposal to operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft from the airport.
Boeing B-747 and B-777, Airbus A-330, and other wide-bodied aircraft under Code E, including Saudia and Emirates, have not been allowed to operate from here since May 1, 2015, leading to a drop in passenger traffic.
Airport director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu on Monday that the process to give permission to operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft was on. Calicut airport can be connected to destinations such as Jeddah by Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which can accommodate around 250-300 passengers. It can also help increase handling of air cargo.
According to a report of a team of officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the AAI who had visited the airport on April 26, Boeing 777-200 seems to be compatible for operations here as its requirements were close to the length of the airport. The team has recommended carrying out a compatibility study to be “performed collaboratively between stakeholders such as aerodrome operator, airplane operator, ground handling agency, and air navigation provider”. The aerodrome operator would take a final decision based on the study report, which was under consideration of the AAI head office, he added.
The State government had recently convened a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the future of the airport and declared its willingness to acquire land for its development.
Similarly, the expansion of the airport has been hanging fire for quite some time as the delay in land acquisition is holding up the extension of the runway.
