Kannur international airport to affect MIA revenue

Mangaluru: The newly created Kannur International Airport in Kerala has given rise to fears that it may affect the revenue of Mangaluru International Airport (MIA).

The most flyers from MIA are from Kasaragod and Kannur districts of Kerala. If these passengers begin to make use of Kannur Internantional Airport, it will adversely affect the revenue of MIA. The 4^th international airport in Kannur district of Kerala is at a distance of 150 kms from MIA and began its operations since September.

Normally, the major portion of passengers to foreign countries, especially the gulf countries from MIA are from Kasaragod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur of Kerala and Bhatkal from Uttar Kannada. According ot the information of MIA, of the total 23.4 lakh passengers last year, 15.02 lakh have travelled domestically while 7.59 lakh passengers have travelled abroad. The remaining are non civilian passengers. From this estimate, it can approximately estimated that in a year, close to 3 lakh passengers from Kerala make use of MIA.

Mangaluru is closer

Mangaluru is at a distance of only 50kms from Kasaragod while Kannur is at a distance of 92 kms from Kasaragod. Mangaluru is at a distance of 60kms from Khanaghad while Kannur is at a distance of 82kms from Khanaghad. Hence, in the future, the passengers may prefer MIA, is the opinion of the experts.

Besides, the road leading towards Mangaluru is good in comparison to the road going towards Kannur. The four lane road from Talapady to MIA adds to the convenience. If this will be convenient for the passengers from Kasaragod and Khanaghad, Kannur airport will be closer for passengers from Payyanur. As Kannur is closer to passengers from Kodagu, there is a possibility that they may divert in that direction.

If Kannur airport starts functioning, it may slightly reduce the number of passengers coming from that region to MIA. It is also necessary to see which planes will fly from Kannur airport, points out former director of MIA, M.R. Vasudeva.

Runway expansion possibility slim

Even though the process of expanding the runway at MIA by 3,050 meters has been done so that Boeing 737-800 planes can land here, the possibility of its realization is slim. Currently, the air travel companies are giving more importance to medium size planes instead of large size planes. An expenditure of at least 4,000 crore rupees is required to extend the runway. At the same cost, another airport can be built at some other location in the district. Therefore, the opinion of the Airport Authority of India is that it is not advisable to extend the runway.

Good Performance

Mangaluru International Airport has attracted national and international attention for its quality service and basic facilities. Year by year, there has been progress in the number of passengers and the number of flights here. In comparison to last year’s estimate, the number of passengers has progressed by 30%.

Kerala road 4 laning

Currently, to reach MIA from Kerala, there exists a 2 lane road till Talapady. This NH 66 is being upgraded to 4 lanes. Now, the road has been upgraded till Talapady and land acquisition process for four laning the road has begun at Manjeshwar, Khanaghad and Kasaragod in Kerala. If the road is developed, the time taken to reach Mangaluru will be further reduced. Due to this reason, the people are requesting to get this development work as soon as possible.

Passenger number will not reduce

“Mangaluru airport has been functioning since many years and number of passengers here has increased year by year. Due to this reason, the newly functioning Kannur airport will not affect us much,” explains V.V> Rao, Director, Mangaluru International Airport.