Kannur airport gearing up for September launch

KIAL authorities hopeful of completing works by April-May

The integrated terminal of the Kannur international airport.

Kannur International Airport, State’s second greenfield airport coming up in public-private partnership mode, is gearing up for commissioning scheduled for September this year.

Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), the government company set up to execute the project, is hopeful of completing the works by April-May this year and for commissioning of the fourth international airport of the State by September. Over 90 % of the works on the air-side and 82 % of the works of the integrated terminal building had been completed.

“The works are going on as per schedule. One to two months is needed for testing equipment, integration, commissioning and to get mandatory aerodrome licence from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). We have already got the ICAO four-letter code-VOKN for the airport and had applied for the three-letter IATO code”, the Managing Director, KIAL, V. Thulasidas told The Hindu here on Monday.

The works of the roofing of the integrated terminal building, flyover in front of the building, service roads and for the full-length parallel taxiway are nearing completion. The time-consuming interior works of the terminal building is on. The IMD, Poona is setting up the weather observatory station.

The Airports Authority of India is responsible for communication, navigation and surveillance of the airport and the AAI is on the task. The calibration aircraft of the AAI will have to arrive in Kannur for flight calibration shortly.

On commissioning of Phase I, Kannur airport will have a runway of 3,050 metre that can accommodate wide-bodied aircraft including the Boeing 777-300 ER and Boeing 747-400.

The efforts to acquire another 80 hectares of land for extending the runway to 4,000-metre and to join the elite group of airports in the country of the same class is on, Project Engineer, K. S. Shibu Kumar said. Runways of 4,000 m or more can handle large, widebodied aircraft such as Airbus A-380 or Antonov AN-225.

The KIAL has also commenced tender formalities for the proposed Rs. 25 crore state-of-the-art automated cargo complex on the western side of the terminal.

The complex to be constructed by KIAL as per the IATO norms will have a cargo space of 3.5 lakh sq.ft.

“Like ground handling, the cargo complex will be outsourced”, Mr. Thulasidas said.