4 year old Air India Express’ travel blog put Kozhikode on list of country’s most scenic airports!

While it would be premature to hold anyone accountable for the accident, one thing is clear that the tabletop runway did pose trouble to the aircraft while it landed and crashed 35 feet down in the gorge.

After the crash of an Air India Express flight at the Kozhikode airport on Friday, the spotlight has turned on various aspects of the Kozhikode airport including its infrastructural and safety standards. Incidentally, a 4-year old travel blog posted by Air India Express titled “India’s Most Beautiful Airports and Runways” has also come to light. The blog mentioned the Kozhikode airport as one of the country’s most scenic and beautiful airports, according to a report by news agency PTI.

Ironical as it seems at this point, but the writer of the blog wrote that the joys of flying turn out to be more spectacular when one is greeted by the scenic beauty of the destination. Pin pointed as the prime reason by various aviation experts and DGCA officials for the Friday crash, the Tabletop runway of the airport also finds elaborate mention in the blog as the writer informs that the airport is one of the few airports in the country that has Tabletop runways. Fascinated by the beauty of the hilly terrain of the airport, the blog only cursorily mentions the danger the same runway posed to the pilots. The writer knew little that the same tabletop runway and hilly terrain would be held responsible for an aircraft crash four years down the line.

The aircraft which crashed on Friday is said to have crashed as it overran the small tabletop runway at the airport and fell into the gorge. The tabletop runways are constructed in the hilly and steep terrain where the slope is levelled to make the runway. While it would be premature to hold anyone accountable for the accident, one thing is clear that the tabletop runway did pose trouble to the aircraft while it landed and crashed 35 feet down in the gorge.