The Calicut airport will continue to operate special flights under the India-UAE air bubble arrangement till August 31.
About 40 flights have been planned for the month under the Vande Bharat Mission. However, changes would be made based on operational, technical and other considerations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the airport following the Air India Express crash that claimed 18 lives and injured several others on August 7.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Calicut airport handled 939 aircraft during May, June and July. The airport handled 80, 478 passengers and 2,846. 724 metric tonnes of cargo during the three-month period.
International repatriation flights by Air India and Air India Express under the Vande Bharat Mission from various destination airports in UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia started arriving at the airport from May 7. Subsequently, after getting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, chartered flights also operated from June. Various foreign carriers also began to operate, officials said.
More than 40,600 passengers arrived from the Gulf Cooperation Council nations in 245 flights in June. A total of 30,408 passengers flew down in 180 flights in July.
The airport also handled 181 domestic aircraft movements from May 25 to June 30. It handled a total of 355 aircraft and 8,674 passengers during the period, airport officials said.
Significantly, the domestic passenger traffic for July increased by 58% as compared to the previous month. At present, Indigo, Air India and Air India Express are operating flights to Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai respectively. In addition, Indigo would add new domestic flights to and from Chennai from Friday, officials said.
An airport official said that shifts of employees had been arranged for the smooth operation of flights. All measures specified by the Health Department were adhered to and conveyed to all agencies working at the airport, the official said.
“Utmost care and foolproof measures were taken for handling passengers, especially passengers who tested positive. Continuous disinfection process was carried out in all areas of the airport,” the official said.
