Flight ops at Kozhikode may be curtailed over land issue

Large aircraft such as A321s and B737s may no longer be allowed to use the Kozhikode airport from August 1, with the civil aviation ministry giving an ultimatum to the Kerala government on the transfer of land that will be used to extend the current runway.

Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia wrote to the state government in this context on Monday. The letter points out that while the state and the Airports Authority of India had agreed that the former would provide the land free by the first week of July, and that the latter would bear the cost of levelling, there has been a "lack of prompt actions" from the state. The ultimatum would appear to be directed at ensuring the state sticks to the July deadline.

The issue has to do with the runway end safety area, or RESA, the area at the end of the runway that acts as a buffer and prevents loss of lives and damage to the aircraft in case it overshoots or undershoots the landing strip. Following an August 7, 2020 crash at the airport that resulted in the death of 21 passengers after an Air India Express Boeing 737 plane overshot the runway, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which pinpointed pilot error as the cause, recommended the creation of RESA.

In his letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Scindia wrote: "... the lack of prompt actions from the state government leaves us with no recourse.