The commissioning of Kannur International Airport (KIAL) is likely to be delayed again. Though the plan was to start commercial operations by September this year, the authorities now say the airport will become operational only by March 2017.
The work, which was affected due to extreme climatic conditions and some other hurdles, is now progressing at a fast pace, according to KIAL officials.
In July 2014, the then chief minister Oommen Chandy had promised that the commercial operation would begin in May 2016. But the target was missed and the UDF government had to satisfy with the namesake trial landing, using a 15-seater Dornier 228 aircraft of the Indian Air Force in February this year.
As per the current schedule, the target is to make the airport commercially operational by March 2017, said KIAL managing director V Thulasidas, for whom this is the second tenure in the same post after a gap of nearly four years. “As of now we have completed almost 75% of the work, though the monsoon has affected the speed,“ said Thulasidas. He added that the progress was satisfactory. “Though the discussion for the second phase development is going on, and also the land acquisition process is progressing, the land with the KIAL is sufficient for the first phase of development with 3,050 m runway ,“ he said.
He also said the KIAL was in discussion with various airlines and by the time the commercial operation begins many airlines were expected to begin operations from there.
As part of this, the KIAL authorities would hold a meeting with various airlines this month itself, said another official. Since the airlines would finalize their summer schedule very soon, as it had to begin in March, the target was to get Kannur airport included in their summer schedule, so that the operations to the overseas, especially the Gulf sector could begin immediately after the airport becomes operational.
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