Mattanur: For the third day running, visitors continued to throng the newly built Kannur International Airport here, which has been thrown open to the public till October 12 to see up close the facilities. Tens of thousands of people from various parts of the district and from neighbouring districts such as Kozhikode, Kasaragod and Wayanad, and from Karnataka were flowing to the airport.

Visitors were seen making a beeline to enter the Rs 2,292 crore airport, which is open for visitors from 10 am to 4 m. The parking lots of the terminal were full to the brim by 9 in the morning, and the visitors were forced to park their vehicles on nearby roads.

The security personnel were stationed at various points of the terminal to guide the visitors.

The visitors were seen clicking selfies and group photos in the backdrop of aesthetically designed interiors of the airport, which would be commissioned on December 9.

With people coming to visit the airport in droves, the security officers were forced to restrict the entry of visitors for a while.

Minor scare

A car parked in the parking lot caught fire, creating a scare among the visitors on Saturday. Short-circuit was the cause of fire, officials said.

The fire, which broke out at 12.30 pm, was first sighted by gardeners working in the garden. The fire was doused under the supervision of Mattanur Fire and Rescue Station Assistant Station Officer K Purushothaman. Even before the fire tenders, which were stuck in traffic logjam, came to the spot, the airport authorities took the initiative to put out the fire.

Timely intervention averted a major disaster as many cars were parked and scores of people were waiting in the vicinity. The CISF, which is entrusted with the responsibility of airport’s security, closed the main entrance during the fire incident.