In spite of being weighed down by the ongoing ban on the operation of wide-bodied aircraft, the Calicut International Airport has emerged as the seventh top international airport in the country and second in the State after Kochi, in terms of handling international and domestic passengers.
The airport registered 22.49% growth in passenger volume from April to September this year. “The surge in the first half of the financial year can be attributed to the introduction of new domestic and international flights, especially by Indigo and Etihad,” J.T. Radhakrisha, Airport Director, told The Hindu here on Friday.
Passenger volume had declined by 25 to 30% after the Airports Authority of India (AAI), following instructions from the Director General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA), partially closed the airport from June 1, 2015, to March 1, 2017, to strengthen the runway. “The airport handled 26,51,888 passengers last financial year. However, this fiscal year we expect to handle more than 30 lakh passengers,” Mr. Radhakrishna said.
The AAI figures showed that Calicut Airport handled 16.02 lakh passengers during the April–September period this fiscal while the figure during the corresponding period in 2016-17 was 13,08,345. The number of domestic passengers travelled via the airport stood at 2,57,690 for six months this year. “On an average, the airport has 28 arrivals and departures of international flights daily,” Mr. Radhakrishna said.
Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports handled 26,88,266 and 12,54,020 international passengers respectively during the first six months.
‘More services needed’
Mr. Radhakrishna hoped that more airline companies operated flights in the domestic sector, especially to southern cities. “We have only a single daily flight to Chennai and no flights to airports such as Pune,” he said.
The airport is beset with the problem of a tabletop runway and urgently require land for its expansion. The existing 2,850-metre runway is not adequate for the operation of any of the wide-bodied Code E aircraft. “Airline companies such as Emirates and Saudia should come forward to operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft since the DGCA has given clearance for its operation. But first we have to increase the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at the airport,” he said.
