The chances for Calicut International Airport to resume the operation of wide-bodied aircraft in the near future look bleak, with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) disapproving the compatibility study report submitted by the Airports Authority of India on the operation of the modern versions of Boeing and Airbus at the airport.
A senior AAI official in New Delhi told The Hindu on Wednesday that the Director of Operations (Aero Standards), D.C. Sharma, had apprised the Calicut airport authorities that the compatibility study report on the operation of wide-bodied aircraft did not include mitigating measures to be taken by airline and airport operators in respect of non-compliance with the formal requirements.
This was after the Flights Standards Division of the DGCA examined the proposal to commence the operation of wide-bodied types — B-777 200 Extended Range; B777- 200 Longer Range; Boeing 787 - 800 (Dreamliner), which is long-haul and mid-size; Boeing 777- 300 Extended Range, and Airbus 330 — at the airport.
The official said the safety assessment done by airline companies was generic in nature, taking all aircraft into consideration, and the responsibility arising out of residual risk was not accepted by airline companies and the airport.
The DGCA decision comes even as airline companies such as Emirates, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and Air India that served West Asia expressed willingness to operate wide-bodied aircraft.
The operation of wide-bodied aircraft under Code E was banned at the airport from May 2015 in the wake of a Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
Kannur airport
In accordance with the procedures for Air Navigational Services prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the DGCA said a compatibility study had to be performed collaboratively among stakeholders including the aerodrome operator, aeroplane operator, ground-handling agencies, and the air navigation service provider. Each compatibility study is required to be carried out specifically on a particular type of aeroplane by the airline operator. The resultant risk arising out of safety assessment should be accepted by the airport and airline operator, the official said.
Meanwhile, a DGCA team has begun inspection at the upcoming Kannur International Airport for granting of licence for operation of flights. For now, the airport can handle over 46.5 lakh passengers with around 40,000 aircraft a year. The Kannur airport is also moving ahead with procedures to operate wide-bodied aircraft, sources said.
The airport has a runway length of 3,050 metres. The airport apron (area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refuelled, or boarded) has a capacity to accommodate 20 code C aircraft.
