Lok Sabha Question No. 2758 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-22
Subject: Development of Calicut International Airport
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: M. K. Raghavan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## Lok Sabha

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 2758

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  22nd December 2022 )

## DEVELOPMENT OF CALICUT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

2758.    SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government has any data regarding the number of seats available  from  Kozhikode  and  other  International  Airports  of  Kerala  to
- other International destinations and if so the details thereof;
- (b) whether despite several pleas from Indian diaspora in GCC countries to increase number of seats to GCC countries, no action has been taken in this regard and if so the details therof including reasons for delay;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  any  data  regarding  the  performance  of Calicut  International  Airport  compared  to  other  airports  of  Kerala  and  if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government has noticed that inspire of good performance, Calicut International Airport is neglected in terms of development and if so,  the  details  pf  the  steps  taken  to  improve  infrastructure  and  bring  in
- wide bodied aircraft to Calicut airport?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION      (GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

- (a)  Under  the  various  Air  Service  Agreements  concluded  by  India  with foreign  countries,  seats  or  services  are  negotiated  for  the  country  as  a whole and not on an airport-wise basis. Indian designated carriers are free to  mount scheduled operations to/from  any international/customs airport to foreign destinations under the ambit of bilateral Air Service Agreements as per  mutually agreed capacity limits. The data on  flight operations as per  Winter  schedule  2022  from  international  airports  in  Kerala  is  at
- Annexure A.
- (b)  Operations  of  foreign  airlines  are  governed  by  bilateral  Air  Services Agreement  (ASA)  between  India  and  the  respective  country  (which  has designated  the  airline).  Any  foreign  airline  can  operate  to/from  a  point (airport) in India if it is designated as a point of call in the ASA. At present, the Government of India follows a policy of promoting more international operations  by  Indian  carriers  from  non-metro  points  either  directly  or through their own domestic operations. Accordingly, to support the Indian carriers, the policy is to not grant any non-metro airport as a new point of call in the ASAs to any foreign carrier.

In  accordance with  Air  Services Agreements  (ASA),  Indian  designated carriers  are  free  to  mount  operations  to/from  any  international  airport including Kozhikode to foreign destinations under the ambit of bilateral air service  agreements  concluded  by  India  with  foreign  countries  as  per mutually agreed capacity limits.

It may also be noted that Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports are already included in the list of 18 tourist gateway destinations from  where  the  Indian  carriers  and  carriers  of  5  SAARC  countries (Bangladesh,  Bhutan,  Nepal,  Maldives  and  Sri  Lanka)  and  10  ASEAN countries  (Singapore,  Malaysia,  Thailand,  Brunei,  Vietnam,  Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines and Laos) can operate unlimited frequencies  subject  to  availability  of  slots  at  the  airport.  As  such,  the government  has  provided  an  enabling  environment  for  growth  of  civil aviation  sector  but  does  not  interfere  in  the  operational  plans  of  the airlines.

Airlines are free to select whatever markets and network they wish to service and operate within the ambit of bilateral agreements. The airlines provide air services to specific places depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability. ;

- (c) The State of Kerala has Kozhikode, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin International Airports. The  comparison  of flight  movements, footfall and freight movement at these airports is at Annexure B.;
- (d)  In  August  2020  an  Air  India  Express  flight  met  with  an  accident  at Kozhikode  airport.  Consequently,  the  commercial  wide-body  operations were  suspended  by  the  Directorate  General  of  Civil  Aviation  (DGCA) pending investigation by the Aircraft  Accident Investigation  Bureau (AAIB). The AAIB which  conducted the investigation made  certain recommendations with regard to Kozhikode airport.;

A  Committee  of  aviation  experts  was  constituted  by  the  Ministry  of Civil  Aviation  to  oversee  the  implementation  of  the  recommendations made  in  the  report  of  the  investigation  conducted  by  AAIB  and  the these recommendations. One of  the  mandates of  the  Committee  was  to  study the feasibility of operation of Wide Body aircraft at Kozhikode airport and to give its recommendations thereon. The Committee recommended that Code  D  and  Code  E  aircraft  operations  may  remain  suspended  till  such time that all recommendations and additional recommendations accepted by the Committee along with mitigation measures for safe Code C aircraft operations are put in place. As such, the commercial operations of Wide execution of the steps required for implementation of Bodied aircraft from Kozhikode airport are presently suspended. One  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Committee  was  for  providing Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both ends of the runway at Kozhikode airport  as  per  the  extant  provisions.  This  Ministry  has  requested  Kerala Government  to  provide  stabilized  leveled  land  for  runway  expansion  at Kozhikode airport. Details such as the timelines for handing over the land, methodology of costing, cost etc.  were requested from the State Government, which are yet to be received. The resumption of Code D and Code  E  operations  from  Kozhikode  is  dependent  on  the  requested  land being made available by the State government.

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## Annexure A to Unstarred Question No. 2758 for Lok Sabha

Current Operations as per Winter Schedule 2022 (Services per week):

|   S.No | Airport    |   Indian Carriers | Foreign Carriers   | Foreign Destinations Connected                                                                                                                                  |
|--------|------------|-------------------|--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Kannur     |                60 | -                  | Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Doha, Riyadh and Dammam.                                                                            |
|      2 | Trivandrum |                37 | 74                 | Sharjah, Abudhabi, Doha(via Calicut), Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, Dammam, Colombo, Singapore, Kuwait, Hanimaadhoo and Male.                                         |
|      3 | Cochin     |               110 | 154                | Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Muscat, Male, Dubai, London-Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Sharjah, Bahrain, Dammam, Riyadh, Salalah, Singapore, Jeddah and Colombo. |
|      4 | Kozhikode  |               228 | 88                 | Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Muscat, Sheikhdom, Riyadh, Salalah and Trivandrum.                               |

## Annexure B to Unstarred Question No. 2758 for Lok Sabha

The comparison of flight movements, footfall and freight movement at airports in Kerala:

| Name of Airport    |   Flight Movements (April, 21 - October, 22) |   Passenger footfall (April, 21 - October, 22) |   Freight movement (April, 21 - October, 22) ( In metric tonnes) |
|--------------------|----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Calicut            |                                        28716 |                                        3427611 |                                                            18175 |
| Kannur             |                                        16738 |                                        1496611 |                                                             4033 |
| Thiruvananthapuram |                                        29225 |                                        3603964 |                                                            26512 |
| Cochin             |                                        72954 |                                        9569743 |                                                            91572 |