Industry bodies have welcomed the proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to consider giving permission to operate wide-bodied aircraft from the Calicut International Airport subject to a compatibility study.
In a press release here on Tuesday, they said that it had given hopes to the development dreams of the Malabar region. The AAI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation had recommended the study to find out if Boeing B 777-200 aircraft could be operated from here. M. Nithyananda Kamath, honorary secretary, Malabar Chamber of Commerce, said that airline companies such as Emirates and Saudi Airlines too should start operating services from the airport. He urged the authorities to convene a meeting of stakeholders, and take steps to resume Hajj and Umrah services from the airport. Meanwhile, C.E. Chakkunni, president, Malabar Development Council, said that if the team conducting the compatibility study send a favourable report, it would help get permission for the operation of more aircraft. He said that would help increase passenger traffic and cargo traffic from the airport. Members of the council urged the authorities to resume operations of more wide-bodied aircraft as the runway had been renovated and recarpeting works had been completed. Both the organisations congratulated the State government, the Malabar Development Forum, and people’s representatives for pressuring the AAI to take a favourable decision.