Kerala will be the only State in India to have four international airports with the outset of Kannur International Airport, which is all set to begin trial flight operations from January and fully operational by September 2018.
Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), is expected to serve more than 1.5 million passengers annually, with a runway suitable for operating Code E aircrafts, like Boeing B-777 and Airbus A-330. The airport will later be extended for operations of Code F aircrafts, like Airbus A-380 and will have a parking bay which can accommodate 20 Boeing-737s and several smaller aircraft. The airport will be able to handle 2,000 passengers at a time.
KIAL is likely to change the face of north Kerala especially in tourism and business activities, like handloom and textiles. Besides the northern districts of Kerala like Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod, the popular tourist destinations in the neighborhood such as Coorg and Mysore in Karnataka will also benefit greatly.
