The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday suspended the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the Calicut International Airport in the wake of the Air India Express (AIE) flight AXB 1344 overshooting the runway on Friday.
Sources said that airline companies, as of now Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) and Air India which are operating wide-bodied aircraft, were communicated to fly their big aircraft used for repatriation of stranded Indians abroad to reschedule them to Kochi airports. On Sunday, Saudi Airbus 330, which was scheduled to fly down at Calicut airport, was diverted to the Kochi airport.
The sources said that the directive of the DGCA to suspend the operation could be temporary or even permanent. The operation of wide-bodied aircraft was banned at the Calicut airport from May 2015 after the Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
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After a protracted battle by the State government and various organisations, the DGCA allowed the resumption of wide-bodied aircraft Boeing 777-200 and Airbus 330-300 at the airport in August 2018. However, the airline companies and airport had been instructed to comply with stringent safety measures. This included the expansion of the Runway End Safety Area at the airport.
At present Saudia, Air India and Dubai-based Emirates got No Objection Certification from the DGCA to operate wide-bodied aircraft with multiple conditions for a period of three years. However, Emirates is yet to operate its flights.
In a statement here, M.K. Raghavan, MP, said that the decision to suspend wide-bodied flights at the airport cannot be justified. The airport had complied with all the stipulations for the operation of big aircraft.
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