Kannur airport opens in Kerala, the only state with 4 international airports

Kannur, widely referred as the cradle of Theyyam, magnificent ritual form of worship in North Kerala, is blessed with its new international airport. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Kannur international airport today making Kerala the only state in India to have four international airports. The new airport in Kannur is expected to give a fillip to the tourism sector in the region too.

“This airport is in a way is a gateway to the future progress of Kerala. I congratulate Kerala Government and people of Kerala for making their dream to come to reality which Kerala now usher into a new growth trajectory,” said Suresh Prabhu after inaugurating the airport.

Spread across 2,000 acres, the new airport in Kannur can handle around 2,000 passengers at a time and will serve more than 1.5 million international passengers yearly. Built at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore, the airport’s runway length is 3,050 metres and will be extended to 4,000 metres.

The first flight from the airport, an Air India Express flight with 180 passengers to Abu Dhabi, was flagged off by the chief guests. All the passengers overboard the inaugural flight received a gift from KIAL.

International flights will fly to the UAE, Oman, Qatar, while on domestic routes Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai among others will operate.