Kannur: The Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) is facing a huge financial burden with several airlines suspending services.
The Centre not giving permission for foreign airlines to operate services is being cited as the primary reason for the crisis the airport is in at present.
It was a landmark moment for the district when the first flight to Abu Dhabi took off from the airport on December 9, 2018. The general notion was that the airport would pave the way for the comprehensive development of the Malabar region.
Within 10 months of the first flight, daily services at the airport went up to 50 and KIAL saw 65 international services being operated every week.
Around 10 lakh people travelled through Kannur airport during this period. However, five years down the line, the airport is struggling to survive.
KIAL's business took a big hit when GoFirst, which used to operate 240 services per month, completely stopped its operations.
Right from the beginning, KIAL has approached the Central government seeking a 'point of call' status required to operate foreign flights. However, no favourable decision has come yet in that regard. According to the Centre, the sole reason the airport is not being granted a 'point of call' status is because Kannur is not a metro city.
Air India, which used to operate international services with large planes, too withdrawing their services caused the airport's business to collapse further.
Today, Air India Express and Indigo are the only airlines operating via Kannur airport. With a dearth of services impacting revenue, the existing services charge hefty prices for tickets.
This pushes passengers to go back to depending on Karipur and Mangaluru airports.
