Giving wings to Malabar’s development dreams, the State government has approved administrative sanction to acquire 485.3 acres of land for the expansion of Calicut airport.
In its order, the Department of Transport has instructed the Malappuram District Collector to acquire the land on the basis of direct purchase scheme and appoint an implementing officer and an agency to study the social impact in connection with the project.
At least 240 acres of land is required for extending the runway to make the airport suitable for operation of E category aircraft. The airport had been partially shut down for the runway work to ensure safety of the flights and wide-bodied aircraft were not allowed to operate from May 1. Previously, the Additional Secretary, Transport Department, had been tasked to acquire 137 acres of land at Pallikkal village of Kondotty in Malappuram district for the airport.
