Stany Bela
Daijiworld Media Network - Kannur

Kannur, Jan 10: Having the largest non-resident Indian (NRI) community, Kerala is all set to open a new international airport in the middle of this year. The airport, which is coming up at Mattannur near Kannur will be the fourth international airport of Kerala after Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

The major chunk of NRIs comes from the northern part of Kerala especially Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasargod. Currently, majority of the people in this belt use Calicut airport and those in Kasargod and northern parts of Kannur district fly from Mangaluru airport to various destinations in the world, with a major share to the Gulf nations.

Kannur is the largest city in the northern part of Kerala and the administrative headquarters of Kannur district comprising many towns and villages, which include Thalassery, the first heritage town of Kerala. Besides, Kannur is famous for its natural treasures surrounded by Western Ghats in the east, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts in the south, Arabian Sea in the west and Kasargod in the north.

To mark the fruition of a much cherished dream of the people of North Malabar and to develop the region, former chief minister of Kerala V S Achuttanandan laid the foundation stone for Kannur airport in December 2010. The project was first estimated to have a 3,015 meter runway. But, keeping in mind the necessity of longer runways, it was extended to 4,000 meter during the construction.

The airport, spread across 2,300 acres will have the fourth largest runway in India. As much as Rs 2,292 crore have been spent on the construction of the airport. With a 95,000 square metre terminal building, Kannur airport will become the 8th largest terminal in India.

The airport is situated 25 km away from Kannur and Thalassery railway stations which gives easy connectivity and transport. The four lane road from the airport which connects to the national highway passing through Thalassery, Iritti, Taliparamba and Kuttyadi will give new direction for development and township culture.

The airport has been equipped to operate code E aircrafts like Boeing B777 which will be soon ready for operation. The airport will also support code F aircrafts like airbus A380. With 6 aerobridges and 48 checking counters, the airport is expecting a million passengers in its first year and 5.08 million passengers by the year 2025.

Kannur airport is equipped with facilities like CAT-1 Approach Lighting and instrument landing system, standard three x-ray machines, self checking and baggage drop facilities. It has category-9 fire safety system which is one of the latest and best fire safety systems available in the industry. It also has LEED Gold Rating for energy and environment conservation.

The new cargo complex of 9,553 sq mtr is expected to manage 75,000 tonne of annual capacity by the year 2027. Introduction of freight carriers will boost cargo transport and traditional industries and will pave the way to promote export of farm produce.

Kannur airport is expected to enhance tourism potential of North Malabar especially the St Angelo Port in Kannur, Aakkal museum, Kannur beach, Parashina Kadav Temple, Papinasheri Snake Park, Bekal Fort and others.

Kannur airport is a Greenfield airport and is a setup of public private partnership model in civil aviation infrastructure in Kerala. As per sources, about 20 national and international aircraft companies have already expressed their wish to fly from Kannur airport.

If everything goes as planned, there is no doubt this airport will become one of the busiest and most modern among airports in India. Once the departure and arrival starts from Kannur airport, there is every chance that Kerala government may start a new airport project at Erumeli in Kottayam district. The airport, which would come up on 2,263-acres of Cheruvalli estate, is expected to give air connectivity to pilgrims of Sabarimala temple, which is 48 km away from the proposed project site.

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