The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday announced suspension of operations of bigger aircraft from the Calicut International Airport for six months, from May 1, in the wake of the proposed runway re-carpeting work from September, citing safety considerations.
In the interest of safety, the AAI has decided to suspend operations of bigger aircraft such as B-777, B-747, and A-330-200 at the airport for a period of six months, an official release said. However, airlines can operate aircraft such as B-757, B-767, B-737, A-310, A-320, etc. or similar ones. The move will affect around 26 international flights of Saudi Airlines, Emirates, and Air India out of the total 41 overseas services a week, arriving and departing from the airport, the release said.
The airport operates a total of 162 flights a week with 121 of them being to various domestic destinations. The situation will be reviewed after assessing the progress of re-carpeting work of the runway and the decision taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in this regard, the AAI said.
Re-carpeting of the runway was for safety reasons arising out of its precarious surface condition after the last monsoon, the release said, adding that the work would be undertaken after monsoon this year. The AAI has also requested the State government to provide 248 acres of land for runway extension and related works. — PTI
