Karipur: Karipur will ply wide-bodied aircraft ending three-year long hiatus, making Indian diaspora jubilant.
Director General of Civil Aviation ( DCCA) granted permission to Saudi Airlines to conduct direct service to Jeddah and Riyadh. Hopes are rife among Malayalies in Gulf that flights would take off again by the end of September.
Alongside, Haj embarkation point would also be restored to Karipur. With Saudi gaining consent, Air India would start service in Jeddah sector.
Restrictions on wide-bodied flights in Karipur have been in force since May 1, 2015, as part of runway renovation. The move subsequently cut off service to Jeddah and Riyadh where most of Malayali diaspora work. Although services to Dubai continued with small aircraft, both Jeddah and Riyadh sector had no service since .
Later in 2016, Air India Express began service to Riyadh with small aircraft, however with not enough seats. An officially estimated 11.7 lakh people from the state work in Jeddah and Riyadh. They make up those who travel once or more than once a year. For the last three years, they have been travelling via Nedumbassery airport.
After landing in Kochi, they have to spend about five hours on road before reaching home. Bringing home dead bodies became particularly difficult.
Resuming service could end these woes. Despite much clamour for restoring service of wide-bodied aircraft, the impasse continued as authorities stood in the way. Air India started service in Karipur in 2002, while Saudi Airlines did in 2009, before they both got shifted to Kochi in 2015.
Meanwhile, Saudi authorities responded that they had not yet received any official consent for resuming the service. It would take an estimated 45 days to complete the official procedures.