4 international airports within 500 km: Kerala to beat the US in air connectivity!

Kerala, whose Human Development Index (HDI) is the highest among all Indian states and beats even that of many western countries, is poised to set another record– four international airports within a distance of 500 km!

The Kochi International Airport is 210 km away from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and 180 km away from Calicut International Airport. The fourth international airport under construction in Kannur is just 94 km away from Calicut International Airport.

Even the United States don’t have the luxury of such excellent air connectivity. Take, for instance, New York. Its nearest international airport Boston lies 301 km away. Among other closest airports, Pittsburgh is 540km away, Detroit 819 km and Chicago 1,178 km away from New York.

The same is the case with San Francisco, another busy international airport in the US. Its nearest international airport Los Angeles is 542 km away, Las Vegas 666 km, Salt Lake City 964 km and New York JFK airport 4,162 km away from San Francisco.

Kerala’s improved air connectivity is targeted at the rising NRI population originating from the state. The three existing international airports in the state have recorded substantial increase in passenger traffic in recent years.

To cope with the rise in international travellers, Kochi airport is constructing a second international terminal, which is expected to be opened to the public by mid-2016.

Kannur Airport is the second greenfield airport to be set up in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in Kerala after Kochi airport. It will cater to the northern Malabar region and also act as the air cargo hub for the region.

The trial landing at Kannur airport is expected by the end of this year and commercial operation may begin in May 2016. The contract for the civil works is awarded to L & T.

As if four international airports were not adequate for the tiny state of Kerala, strong lobbying is being done for a fifth international airport at Aranmula, 115 km from Thiruvananthapuram airport. However, the project has run into trouble in the wake of strong protests from environmentalists and local people as well as the opposition parties in Kerala.

The sangh parivar too has objected to the airport on the ground that as per the project report, the flag post of the famed Aranmula Parthasaradhi temple has to be shortened and the temple’s entrance has to be changed from its current position, which is against tantric tradition. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, has recently withdrawn the ‘in-principle’ approval given to the proposed Aranmula Airport Project by the previous Government.

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