Daunting challenges face S. Suresh who took charge as the new director of the Calicut International Airport on Friday. Some of the tasks include the development of the runway, resumption of the operation of wide-bodied aircraft, and restoration of the airport’s status as a Haj embarkation point.
He took over charge from R. Mahalingam, who has been transferred to the regional headquarters in Chennai.
Prior to his posting at Calicut, Mr. Suresh had served in various capacities at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) headquarters in New Delhi, the Civil Aviation Training College at Allahabad, and the airports at Bengaluru, Tirupati, and Chennai.
Mr. Suresh, an avid supporter of the green airport concept, hopes to bring the Calicut airport on par with the best airports in the world adapting to the best international standards
Based on the suggestion of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the State government has started the process to acquire 18.5 acres of land for expansion of the Runway End Safety Area. The services of wide-bodied aircraft, suspended after the Air India Express crash at the airport in August 2020, could be resumed only after extending the runway. This will enable the airport authorities to utilise the full length of the 2,860-metre runway for landing. The existing landing distance is 2,700 metres.
Another big issue is the restoration of the embarkation point for the Haj pilgrimage at the airport. That too can be made possible only after the resumption of services of wide- bodied aircraft. Incidentally, over 80% of applicants for the Haj pilgrimage from the State every year are from the Malabar region.
Mr. Suresh will have to prepare the ground for the Ministry’s recommendation to lease the airport under the public-private-partnership mode.
