Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to soon approve restart of wide-body aircraft ops at Calicut airport says Minister … reports Asian Lite News.
The approval for the operation of wide-body aircrafts is soon expected to be given by the aviation regulator, DGCA. The Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu expressed the same through a tweet.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had suspended wide-body aircraft operations at Calicut airport in May 2015, following a directive from the DGCA citing safety concerns.
“Recd. numerous representations for restarting Wide-body aircraft operations at Calicut airport (stopped in May 2015 due to safety concerns). On assuming charge as minister in March 2018, I had asked AAI to upgrade the infrastructure & directed DGCA to expedite the approval,” Prabhu said in a tweet today.
“Happy to inform that AAI has completed all requirements and DGCA approval is expected very soon. Safety and passenger convenience both continue to be my highest priorities,” the minister said in another tweet.
In April 2017, a team of of civil aviation department officials had visited the Calicut airport to assess feasibility of operating wide-body aircrafts.
The team, comprising officials from DGCA and AAI, was led by the aviation regulator’s Joint Director General J S Rawat and reviewed infrastructure at the airport for operating wide-body aircraft.