Karippur Airport going for expansion: Runway to remain partially closed

Kozhikode: The Runway End Safety Area (RESA) of Karippur airport is going to have a major expansion shortly, for which the airport will remain partially closed for six months until 24 March. The planned closure of the runway is from 12 noon to 2.30 pm, and from 3.30 to 7 pm in its first phase from January 15 to March 24. In the second phase, from 25 March to 30 June, the runway closure will be from noon to 8 pm.

As per media reports, the airport authority is scheduling the work in such a way as not to affect existing flight timings. The airports Authority of India (AAI) had sanctioned Rs 6 crore for the works, involving contracts awarded to six firms, which include major electrical installation and laying of cables.

RESA is being expanded to 240 m based on the diections of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is now just 90 metres at both ends, which is not in compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirement.

Following the works, the length of the table top runway, however, will be reduced from 2,850 metres to 2,700 metres. The length of the runway strip (the area surrounding the runway for reducing damage to aircraft in the event of its unintentional excursion) will remain at 75 metres on either side. It is expected that wide bodied airfraft like Boeing 777-200, will be able to operate with the expansion of RESA.

The previous partial closure of the airport to strengthen the runway was from June 1, 2015 to March 1, 2017. The DGCA then also banned the operation of wide-bodied aircraft under Code E at the airport citing the findings based on the Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010. As a result, passengers hailing from Malabar, and using flights mainly to and from Gulf destinations, were put to great difficulty due to reduced availability of seats and they had to use Nedumbraasery airport with a consequently longer land journey to and from their native places.

The airport plans to operate wide-bodied aircraft from July. The move follows a joint report of the DGCA and the AAI that gave clearance for operating Boeing 777-200 since the runway appeared fit to host airfract of that class. The Aerodrome Reference Field Length (ARFL), the minimum field length required for aircraft to take off at sea level in still air and runway slope, for Boeing 777-200 is 2,390 metres. For quite some months, arilines like Emirates, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and also Air India which operates to Middle East destinations have been showing interest to operate wide-bodied aircraft Airbus 330-300, Boeing 777-200 Longer Range, and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Calicut Airport, apparently eyeing the heavy passenger traffic between Calicut and Gulf destination mainly by Keralite workers in the Gulf.