Kozhikode: The state expert appraisal committee has recommended Environmental Clearance (EC) for the development of additional Runway end safety area (RESA) on both ends of Calicut International Airport and relocation and augmentation of CNS (Communication, Navigation and Surveillance) facilities at the airport. RESAs are meant to mitigate the consequences when airplanes overrun the end of a runway during landing or a rejected takeoff or undershoot the intended landing on the runway.
Air India Express Flight AXB 1344 crashed on August 7, 2020, upon landing at Calicut from Dubai during poor weather. After landing, the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, overran the tabletop runway, skidded off the end of the runway and crashed into a gorge. The Expert Committee constituted following the accident recommended extension of RESA. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to extend the existing RESA of size 90m x 90m to 240m x 90m on both ends of the runway strip 10-28 for the usage of the entire 2860m length of the runway to reduce the risk of damage to an airplane undershooting or overrunning from the runway of the Calicut International Airport, the Social Impact Assessment report has noted.
The Calicut International Airport is one of the tabletop airports in the country having an area of 372.54 acres. It has a runway of physical dimension 2860m x 45m suitable for Code D (A-310) type of aircraft with minor load penalty. Between 2004-2015, international Airlines like Saudi Arabia – Jumbo Jet, Emirates, Qatar Airlines- Double Decker Jumbo Jet, etc. landed at Calicut International Airport. The existing apron has 12 parking stands (1 for A-310, 2 for A-300, 8 for A-321 & 1 for A320). The existing International Terminal Building has an area of 39920 sqm with 1500 PHP ( peak hour passengers), and the Domestic Terminal Building has an area of 12,000 sqm with 750 PHP. In the Calicut International Airport, the airplanes could land and take off through both sides of the runway, both 2,700 meters in length.
A total of 14.5 acres of land is required for the construction of the RESA. This will be taken from the Pallikkal and Nediyirippu villages of Kondotty taluk of Malappuram district. This project will acquire 7 acres of land from the Runway 10 side (west end of the existing runway) and 7.5 acres of land from the Runway 28 side (east end of the existing runway), according to the SIA report.
