Mangalore: International Status – Local Airport Losing Out to Kannur?
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Dec 7: Has the demand for, and activities connected with, securing international status for Mangalore Airport, died down? Have the people in strategic places, including the politicians, tired of raising the demand for earning international status for our airport? At a time when the MPs and union ministers hailing from the state appear to be doing precious little to turn the international airport dream into a reality, the officials and politicians of our neighbouring state, Kerala, are silently forging ahead, and Kannur is likely to boast of an international airport shortly.
Karnataka has only one international airport in Bangalore, which has been built not by the government, but on private-public partnership basis. Once Kannur becomes an international airport, Kerala will have three such airports, as against one here. Moreover, because of nearness of Kannur to the city, the upgradation efforts of the airport here are likely to suffer.
At present, 17 flights on an average, including to destinations like Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait etc., operate from the local airport. Within the nation, flights operate to Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram etc. At the fag end of May this year, union minister for civil aviation, Praful Patel, had announced that the 8,000-ft runway of the airport here would be extended by another 1,000 ft to bring it at par with international standards. Having a minimum of 9,000 ft runway is mandatory for an airport to earn international status. After the announcement of the minister, nothing seems to have been done to bring his words into practice.
Even though flights from and to international destinations have been landing and taking off from the local airport at present, this airport has not earned the ‘international’ tag as yet. In addition to the length of the runway, there are a few more terms and conditions besides standards of services to be complied with. However, runway standard is the major condition that has to be met.
There had been speculations that this table-top airport was not suited for international flights, particularly so because of the air crash of May 22 this year. However, various authorities have confirmed that the facilities at this airport here are on par with standards prescribed. The inquiry has found that the pilot of the aircraft was entirely responsible for the crash in which the Air India Express flight had overshot the run way before plunging into a gorge.
In Kerala, politicians seem to be working together, sinking their party affiliations, in the larger interests of their state. In Karnataka, however, our leaders are almost always busy sorting out their inter-party squabbles, and fighting with the leaders from the other parties. Karnataka coast boasts of a few persons including a union minister, who have a strong clout in the union government, and who have the capacity to make things happen. It is to be seen as to whether they have the will to come together and act fast before it is too late.
In Kannur, 516 acres of land has been acquired, and 316 acres additional land is being acquired to build a new international airport. This airport project, which is being set up at a cost of 1,100 crore, is being executed on private-public participation basis. Works on this airport will begin on December 17 this year, and is expected to be completed fast, although the project has not been able to beat some deadlines that were set in the past.