Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre is likely to grant an extension to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to expand the runway of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport . The development of the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) is a mandatory requirement set by the civil aviation ministry and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Its original deadline is Sep 2024.
If the airport fails to comply with this requirement by Sep 2024, it risks losing its operating licence. However, the Centre is expected to give some more time as the state govt is awaiting clearance from the Union ministry of defence to acquire land from BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd. Earlier, the airport authorities had devised a plan to acquire 4.
5 acres of land, avoiding critical installations of BrahMos. Since the state govt will provide alternate land for the BrahMos expansion close to the existing facility, the Centre is likely to grant the clearance soon. A source close to the state govt told TOI that the land acquisition for the development of the runway is in fast progress.
However, to acquire the land of BrahMos, clearance from the Union ministry of defence is mandatory. “The state govt has already written to the Centre seeking clearance to ensure that the 4.5 acres of land is acquired as soon as possible.
The govt is also in the process of providing alternate land to the BrahMos near to the current location,” the source said. Meanwhile, BrahMos Aerospace has also requested the state govt to draft a new alignment for the expansion. Under the current alignment, the ‘Nirbhaya Engine Unit’, a critical installation, would be impacted as the required land includes this unit.
To address this, the govt is now working on a new alignment plan that will avoid affecting any BrahMos installations. In addition to revising the runway expansion alignment, the govt has initiated steps to identify new land for relocating the Chackai Fire and Rescue Station, which is also part of the overall expansion proposal. As per the alignment for the runway development, a part of the Chackai- Shanghumugham Road and the Kerala Fire and Rescue Service station at Chackai will be acquired.
However, the ITI at Chackai will be retained as such. The AAI had formally requested the state govt to provide 22 acres of land required for the expansion. Last year, the state govt gave its nod to the Kozhikode International Terminal to acquire 12 acres of land for the runway expansion.
Over the past year, Thiruvananthapuram Airport has seen a significant increase in air traffic. However, space constraints have hindered further development and the implementation of the airport’s master plan..
