While the Air India Express plane crash has brought to focus the need for expanding runway of the Kozhikode international airport, a proposal of Airport Authority of India (AAI) in this regard was pending for quite long time.
Public resistance against land acquisition and lack of political will are the major hurdles that affect land acquisition, which is the responsibility of the state government. AAI had even brought down their requirements to 135 acres from initial plans of 450 acres.
Even as the Runway End Safety Area was set up for the tabletop runway last year after constant alerts from DGCA, it was done by utilising the existing runway. As a result, the runway length got reduced to 2,700 metres from 2,850 metres when the RESA was expanded to 240 metres from 90 metres last year.
There are allegations that the present CPM-led government is now more focused on the development of adjacent Kannur international airport, which is a PPP model airport that was set up recently.
T V Ibrahim, MLA of Kondotty in Malappuram where the Kozhikode airport is located, told DH that though the present government had initially shown much enthusiasm towards land acquisition, now it seems to be fading. The local residents need to be taken into confidence by identifying suitable land for rehabilitating them so that the local resistance against land acquisition could be addressed, said the IUML MLA.
Restrictions were imposed on the operation of wide-bodied aircraft from Kozhikode airport owing to the limitations of the runway.