Summary:
KOZHIKODE: Ending the three-year old ban on operation of wide-bodied aircraft from the Karipur Airport Saudia ) will commence jumbo flight services from the city in December this year, Kozhikode MP MK Raghavan has said.In a press release, Raghavan said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has informed him that it has given temporary permission to Saudia to continue operating services from Thiruvananthapuram airport till March 2019 along with Karipur airport.The airline had shifted its operations from Karipur to Thiruvananthapuram following the ban on operation of wide- bodied aircraft at the airport in May 2015.Though the DGCA had granted Saudia permission to resume the operation of Boeing 777-200 and Airbus 330-300 range of wide-bodied aircraft from the airport on August 9, the commencement of service from Karipur was delayed over the issue of allowing the airline to operate services simultaneously from Thiruvanthapuram which was given as a alternative destination to the airline following the ban.Raghavan said that the official announcement regarding the commencement of operations from Karipur airport will be made by the airline soon.He said that the move would provide relief to around six lakh NRIs based in Saudi Arabia, among whom three lakh expats are from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.The DGCA had banned operation of wide- bodied aircraft at the airport citing runway safety concerns from May 2015 especially citing insufficient RESA (Runway end safety area) length..