AAI agrees to bear cost of land-filling for RESA expansion at Calicut airport

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has agreed to bear the cost of land-filling for the expansion of the runway end safety area (RESA) at the Calicut International Airport. The AAI has also started preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the RESA expansion.

In a letter to M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, Lok Sabha member from Malappuram and chairman of the airport advisory council, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Vijay Kumar Singh said “the AAI as a special concession has agreed to bear the cost of levelling and stabilising of land.”

Mr. Samadani had raised the issue in Parliament as the Centre stuck to its stand that it was the responsibility of the State government not only to acquire the 14.5 acres required for the proposed RESA expansion, but also to fill and level it.

As Karipur is a table-top airport with its runway ends protruding like a cliff, the extension of the runway ends by constructing embankments with landfills will cost a huge amount. The State government was non-committal on bearing the expenses, leading to uncertainties and delays.

“We have been pressing the matter persistently with the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Whenever I met Dr. Singh, he said that it was the responsibility of our Chief Minister. Now, it is good news that the AAI has agreed to do the land-filling work for the RESA expansion,” Mr. Samadani told The Hindu.

The State government has to acquire 14.5 acres and hand it over to the AAI. Officials said it would be done soon.

RESA expansion has been a crying need at Karipur, especially after the tragic crash of Air India Express flight 1344 on August 7, 2020. As many as 21 people, including the two pilots, were killed and 167 others wounded when the flight from Dubai overshot the runway touchdown point while landing and plunged into a depth of 30 metres after wading through the 90-metre long RESA.

It was assessed that a longer RESA could have prevented the accident. The RESA is now proposed to be expanded to 240 metres.

The AAI experimented by shortening the runway to expand the RESA a couple of years ago, forcing wide-body aircraft to stop operations from Karipur.

The AAI is now planning to expand the RESA without reducing the runway. Expansion of the RESA is a must for resumption of larger aircraft operations from Karipur.