Kozhikode
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has finally issued an order cancelling the procedures to look into the scope of reducing the length of the table-top runway in order to establish the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at the Calicut International Airport.
In a letter to the Airport Director on Tuesday, AAI senior manager Mohammed Waseem said that the approved scope of work for “runway re-carpeting along with runway centre line lights, touch down zone lighting, modification of localizer type directional aid (LDA) for providing RESA and relocation of glidepath issued on January 28 stands cancelled.”
M.K.Raghavan, MP, attributed the development to the long struggle against the unsuitable proposal. Now, the current decision would give impetus to continue the struggle to resume the service of wide-bodied aircraft, he said.
Previously, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had given an assurance in the Lok Sabha that the length of the table-top runway would not be shortened. But Mr. Raghavan, who is also the co-chairman of the Calicut Airport Advisory Committee, had then pointed out a document in his possession issued by the AAI showing that officials had drawn up a proposal to establish the RESA after reducing the length of the runway.
Minister thanked
Calicut Airport Advisory Committee chairman Abdussamad Samadani, MP, too welcomed the Union government decision.
Mr. Samadani and Mr. Raghavan met Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia along with Kerala MPs E.T. Mohammed Basheer, P.V. Abdul Wahab, Rajmohan Unnithan and V.K. Sreekandan in New Delhi and thanked him for the positive move towards Karipur.
Mr. Samadani also thanked Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan for his support.
“We had strongly demanded that the Airport Authority of India withdraw from the move to degrade the airport considering the emotional response from thousands of expatriates,” said Mr. Samadani. He also demanded that the government initiate move to resume wide-body flights from Karipur soon.
