A crucial meeting called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, in which chief executive officers of various airline companies and Union Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey are taking part, will take a call on the revocation of ban on operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the Calicut International Airport.
An official source told The Hindu that the meeting came close on the heels of a joint team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which carried out an inspection at the airport last month, submitting a report to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry that the table-top runway was not suitable for wide-bodied aircraft operations.
The existing current runway length is only 2,860 metres and the runway end safety area is just 90 metres on each side.
Runway strength
The inspection team was satisfied with the strength of the runway after renovation works were completed and the airport became fully functional from March 1. But, considering safety aspects, it has allowed only the operation of Code C aircraft. “Thus, the fate of operating Boeing B-747, B-777, Airbus A-330, and other wide-bodied aircraft under Code E hangs in the political balance,” the sources said.
The State government should either request the Ministry to resume operations of wide-bodied aircraft or assure the Centre that the acquisition of land for airport expansion would be done in a time-bound manner. However, AAI officials prefer acquisition of land for airport expansion since they suspect that the government showed more interest in Kochi and the upcoming Kannur international airports, both developed under public-private partnership model. According to AAI officials, giving sanction for the operation of Code E aircraft would stall the prospects of the airport. The AAI has informed the government of its willingness to start work simultaneously on the runway with the acquisition of land. It has also proposed that the Collectors of Kozhikode, Palakkad and Malappuram districts identify hills to be razed.
