Trivandrum Airport May Lose International Airport Status

It’s rare that the Chief Minister of a State goes out of his way to torpedo an expansion plan. That’s what’s happening in the case of Trivandrum Airport which needs to expand and extend its 3.1 km runway to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO) specifications. For expansion, an additional 18.5 acres of land adjoining the present airport has already been earmarked. Out of this, 16 acres are government land and the balance in private hands. The Adanis, who operate the airport, have been after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the release of land. Pinarayi seems to be sitting on the proposal. ICAO has given Trivandrum airport time till December 2023 or lose its International airport status. This will mean stoppage of all international flights to and from Kerala’s first international airport built on land given by the Travancore Maharaja. The airport operates 120 international flights per week. Pinarayi’s ire follows the State government’s failure in its bid to take over Trivandrum airport from AAI. Two of Kerala’s greenfield airports — Kochi and Kannur — are run by the private sector with the State Government being the principal shareholder. Despite being world class, Pinarayi’s home town airport at Kannur is struggling for want of traffic and passengers. If the CM hopes that by blocking Trivandrum airport’s expansion Kannur could benefit, then he is totally off the mark going by the distance between the two places.