Exclusive sneak peek into Kerala’s Kannur International Airport

By conservative estimates, Kannur International Airport would serve a million passengers annually, with the number expected to increase five-fold by 2025.

1. 👁 Exclusive sneak peek into Kerala's Kannur International Airport
   

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   The Kannur International Airport, the fourth in Kerala, is set for a formal inauguration on December 9 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu. The others are at Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

1. 👁 Exclusive sneak peek into Kerala's Kannur International Airport
   

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   The airport is located 30 km from the main town of Kannur and 3 km from Mattanur town, which also happens to be the closest urban settlement to the airport. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   Ahead of the grand inauguration on Sunday, the town wore a festive look, with a long line of Chinese lights on both ends of the road leading to the airport. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

1. 👁 Exclusive sneak peek into Kerala's Kannur International Airport
   

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   A green protocol is also in place for the inauguration ceremony, with zero plastic usage. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

1. 👁 Exclusive sneak peek into Kerala's Kannur International Airport
   

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   The airport, which has come up on 2000 acres of mostly hilly terrain, is the culmination of government and bureaucratic efforts stretching back to the mid-90s. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   With the nearest airport two hours away at Karippur in Kozhikode district, there was a lot of clamour for another airport in the Malabar region of the state that could better serve the large emigrant Malayali population that works in the Gulf countries. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   The northernmost Kasaragod and Kannur districts account for thousands of Malayalis working in countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. For these people, a trip back home would be an easier deal after December 9. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   The greenfield airport (one built from scratch on a new undeveloped site) will have a 4,000 m runway. It will be the fourth-longest runway in the country, behind only New Delhi (4,430 m), Hyderabad (4,260 m) and Bengaluru (4,120 m). (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   Domestic destinations from the airport will include Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hubballi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Solapur and Hindon (Ghaziabad). (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   The airport has received an LEED gold rating for energy and environment conservation, and has a solar power system. While a 7-MW plant has been installed presently, the capacity will be increased to 10 MW in the coming years. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   Domestic destinations will be connected by private carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet, who won the bids under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   The integrated 95,000 sq m terminal building, the eighth largest in India, has been built with state-of-the-art facilities. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)

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   By conservative estimates, the airport would serve a million passengers annually, with the number expected to increase five-fold by 2025. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma)