Thiruvananthapuram: The Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL), the fourth international airport in Kerala, will be ready for operations by October 1, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu said in Delhi on Thursday.
He added that Indigo, GoAir and Air India will be initially commencing international services from the airport.
KIAL sources said that the international services from the Kannur airport are likely by October 28, when the winter schedules of the airlines would come into effect. Jet Airways was planning to commence international services from Kannur.
Many domestic airlines were also willing to operate from the airport. However, the Centre was yet to allow foreign airlines to start operations from the greenfield airport, despite constant pressure from the state government.
“The Kannur airport will be catering not only to North Kerala, but to nearby areas of Karanataka. It will also give a boost to tourist areas like Coorg,” said KIAL sources.
Meanwhile, a decision on allowing regional flights under the centre’s UDAN regional connectivty scheme was also still pending. The centre would be offering certain relaxations in the UDAN scheme and the next board meeting of KIAL would have to take a decision on the matter.
