The Airports Authority of India (AAI)’s decision to partially close down the Calicut International Airport in Kerala for repair works during the peak travel season has drawn flak from Keralites living in Kuwait.
A partial closure of runways in the Kozhikode airport for re-carpeting them during the period between May 1 and October 31 will hit the travel plans of tens of thousands of expatriates in Kuwait. Keralites form the largest group of Indian expatriates in Kuwait and hundreds of thousands of them are from the Malabar region.
According to reports, Karipur Airport, in Kerala, India, will be partially closed from May 1 to October 31, 2015 for maintenance work. During the period, wide-body aircrafts operated by airlines like Emirates and Saudi Airlines will not be allowed to land at the airport. Also, many other airlines will have to reschedule their timings since runways will be closed for all flights for certain hours between 12noon and 8pm. This is expected to cause troubles for many passengers and also hit the cargo service, reports said.
Various Kerala association in Kuwait lodged their protest against this move by the authorities. Kozhikode district NRI Association had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Kerala to reconsider the move to close down the airport during peak travel season of NRIs. OICC Kuwait and Kerala Arts Lovers Association, Kala Kuwait also put forward similar demand to the chief minister of Kerala. Kuwait Kerala Muslim Cultural Center KMCC organised a public meeting on this subjected in which various association from Kerala aired their protest.
Emirates has already stopped booking tickets to Kozhikode from May. However Emirates sources revealed that the airline is currently working with the relevant authorities in Kozhikode to ensure minimum disruption to its passengers during the airport closure.
Largest number of Keralites from the Malabar region fly to this airport during this season due to school vacations and several religious festivals. Major festivals like Ramadan, Eid, Onam, during which many expats visit home, fall during these months.
Re-carpeting of the runways is a normal renovation process periodically carried out by airports across the world. The last time the runways in Calicut Airport were carpeted was in 2009, according to reports from India.