The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have categorically stated that the restoration of the services of wide-bodied aircraft from the Calicut International Airport can be permitted only after the expansion of the airport runway.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who held a meeting of MPs belonging to the United Democratic Front (UDF) in New Delhi on Wednesday, told the delegation that temporary reinstatement of permission to operate wide-bodied aircraft was impossible. The tabletop runway of the airport has a length of 2,850 metres and is meant for operation of only mid-sized (Code- D) aircraft and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been proposing that the runway be expanded to 3,627 metres for wide-bodied (Code E) aircraft. The Minister assured the delegation that the Ministry would consider the demand for restoring the Air India flight from Kozhikode to New Delhi via Coimbatore and Mumbai.
Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan, who had initiated the meeting with the Minister, exuded confidence about the meeting and termed it as ‘positive’. E. Ahmed, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, and P.V. Abdul Wahab, MPs belonging to the IUML and Vadakara MP Mullappally Ramachandran were present at the meeting. The MPs said that the partial closure of the airport from June last year for 15 months, had affected the air passengers especially bound for Gulf countries. Many airlines that operated wide-bodied aircraft from the airport had shifted to Kochi airport. The resumption of operation of wide-bodied aircraft was necessary to facilitate Haj pilgrims, they said.
The airport had been partially shutdown for the runway work to ensure safety of the flights. Subsequently, Boeing B-747 and B-777, Airbus A-330, and other wide-bodied aircraft under Code-E were not allowed to operate from May 1.
