Giving a glimmer of hope to the prospect of reviving the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the Calicut International Airport, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and major airlines companies to do a compatibility study and safety assessment in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements.
Sources said that Director of Operations (Aero Standards) D.C. Sharma had written to AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra urging him to ask the airline companies to submit a risk mitigation plan for identified hazards in the safety assessment.
Besides, the Calicut airport should submit if it had accepted these mitigation plans.
Within three weeks
Airport Director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu on Friday: “I have asked the airline companies, Emirates, Saudia, and Air India, which had already expressed willingness to operate modern versions of the Boeing and Airbus to submit reports within two-three weeks.”
The operation of wide-bodied aircraft was banned from May 2015 in the wake of the Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
Compatibility study would be conducted for the operation of Boeing777-200 Extended Range, Boeing 777-200 Longer Range, Airbus 330-300, Airbus 330-300R, Boeing 777-300 Extended Range, and Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner, Mr. Radhakrishna said, adding that the target for completing the ongoing Runway End Safety Area (RESA) work is May 15.
(The runway of the Calicut International Airport was partially closed to expand the RESA from January 15 to June 30).
Joint study
The compatibility study should be performed collaboratively between the affected stakeholders including the airport operator, the airline operators, ground-handling agencies, and air navigation service provider. Compatibility study should be done specifically for each type of aircraft.
The study should identify the physical and operational characteristics of the aeroplane, applicable regulatory requirements, adequacy of the airport infrastructure, and the necessary changes required at the airport.
Besides, the airport operator and aircraft operator should discuss the assessment and whether the operations of the aircraft type and sub-type can be accommodated and if permitted under what conditions, it said.
As of now the only stumbling block that stood in the way for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft is the existing runway airstrip at the airport which is only 75 m on both sides as against the mandated requirement of 150 m.
