The Malabar Development Forum (MDF) has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of being apathetic to issues at the Calicut airport, saying that he had failed to take up the matter during his meeting with Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi last month.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, MDF president K.M. Basheer and general secretary K. Saifudeen said the Chief Minister had met the Union Minister only to discuss the inauguration and promotion of the upcoming Kannur International Airport. His request to send the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman to conduct an inspection again at the Calicut airport smacked of a conspiracy to downgrade the facility even as the AAI and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had already said that the airport was suitable for operating wide-bodied aircraft.
Mr. Basheer alleged that some senior AAI officials who, he claimed, were hand-in-glove with owners of private airports, were trying to sabotage the resumption of wide-bodied aircraft operations at the airport. Several months ago, the AAI had recommended to the DGCA that Calicut airport was suitable for handling mid-size wide-body aircraft. Based on the recommendation, the AAI had submitted all related documents to the DGCA.
However, the files were suppressed at the AAI office, and the DGCA was not able to give approval for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft. A probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Vigilance Commission will bring to light the plot hatched by AAI officials to scuttle the development of the airport, he said.
Previously, the AAI, after carrying out studies, had come to the conclusion that the airport was suitable to operate wide-bodied aircraft such as Boeing 777-200 Extended Range, Boeing 777-200 Long Range, Airbus 330-300, Boeing 777-300 Extended Range, and Boeing 787-800 under Code E. Major airlines such Emirates and Saudia had also expressed willingness to operate flights based on their studies.
Mr. Basheer said the MDF would wholeheartedly throw its weight behind Kozhikode MP, M.K. Raghavan, who is planning to undertake a hunger strike on July 12 for the cause of the airport. It was high-time that all political parties and religious organisations supported the campaign, he added.