MALAPPURAM: Coming as a major relief to thousands of expatriates, the partially closed runway of Calicut International Airport will be fully operational from March. It was closed for 19 months and consequently, major services to Gulf countries were cut down. “Going by the preparations, the runway is ready to open up fully from March and we are waiting for the official intimation from the concerned authority,” Karipur Airport director K Janardhanan said.
Airport authorities have also intimated the airlines about the opening up of the strengthened runway to reschedule their summer flight schedules because the runway will be operational for 24 hours a day. Some of the airline companies have already rescheduled their summer services from March 26 from Karipur. Some have also come forward to launch more domestic services.
The remaining works of the runway including re-carpeting and electrification will be completed by the end of February. The installation of the new Instrument Landing System (ILS) which enables landing of aircraft in poor visibility conditions during fog or heavy rain, had been completed in December and would be commissioned soon.
The Airport Authority of India had shut the runway partially and announced a blanket ban on wide-bodied aircraft from May 1, 2015 after a study by the Central Road Research Institute found that the airport runway was not in good condition. Subsequently, nearly 20,000 seats were cut to Gulf countries from Karipur which hit thousands of expats from northern districts. Besides, the Airport also lost its status as the Haj embarkation point in the state.
