Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to take steps to expedite the development of Calicut International Airport.
The chief minister made the request during an online meeting held to discuss developments of airports in the state on Thursday. Vijayan said that after the Air India Express flight crash last year, the airport has not been operating fullfledged services and sought steps to facilitate more flight services.
The chief minister said that the government has given administrative sanction for acquiring 152.5 acres needed for the development of the airport. Also, district collectors have been asked to resolve the opposition from residents for acquiring the land. Vijayan brought to the attention of the Union minister the concern over Centre’s moves to privatize airports.
He also raised the demand for commencement of international flight services from Kannur International Airport. The minister replied that a decision in this regard will be taken after further deliberations. The chief minister urged the central government to reduce the high air fares, especially to the Gulf. The minister assured that he will look into the matter.
The directorate general of civil aviation had suspended operation of wide-bodied aircraft at Calicut International Airport following the AIE flight crash on Aug 7, 2020. The civil aviation ministry had recently set up a nine-member committee to look into the recommendations of Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau report into the AIE crash at Karipur airport and it is learnt that the resumption of wide-bodied aircraft flights from the airport will be dependent on the recommendations of this committee which will submit a report within two months.
