Malabar Chamber of Commerce (MCC) and Calicut Airport Committee (CAC) have sought the intervention of Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu to accord sanction for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at Calicut airport.
In a memorandum submitted to the Minister, MCC president P.V. Nitish and CAC chairman P.V. Gangadharan said partial closure of the runway had been lifted on June 15 after the completion of the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) expansion work.
It was promised that wide-bodied aircraft like Boeing 777 Extended Range and Boeing 777 Long Range and Airbus 330-300 and Boeing 787-800 would be given permission to operate after the completion of RESA work in accordance with the recommendations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
They said the passenger inflow and exports through the airport had been going up.
However, the DGCA and AAI are neglecting the legitimate demands of the people. Moreover, the Haj embarkation point has not been reinstated at the airport.