Why a shorter runway at Kozhikode airport is bad news for exporters

The Kerala Exporters’ Forum wants the State government to speed up the acquisition of 14.5 acres at Kozhikode airport for the construction of a 240-m ‘runway-end safety area’, or RESA, on both ends of the runway.

The forum fears that in the absence of land acquisition, the Airports Authority of India will reduce the runway length by 160 m on either end for the RESA. This would seriously affect the future growth of the airport, the forum members say.

There are reports that the AAI is readying to shorten the 2,860-m runway to 2,540 m for the construction of RESA on the eastern and western ends of the runway, which has been made mandatory following the Air India Express crash at Karipur in August 2020.

Abdussamad Samadani, Member of Parliament from Kozhikode, said he has requested the Civil Aviation Minister to shelve the plan to reduce the runway length, especially given the rapid progess made by the Kerala government in its efforts to acquire land to avert runway reduction.

TC Ahamed, Chairman (Airport sub-committee), Kerala Exporters’ Forum, said the Kozhikode airport is a gateway to the Malabar region, catering to the travel needs of the local population. Kozhikode also serves as an export hub for vegetables and other perishables to West Asian destinations. The reduction of runway length will restrict the airport to only narrow-bodied aircraft, leading to loss of export orders for the region due to the space crunch in aircraft.

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Industry sources warned that a shortened runway would cut short the airport’s development activities.