Malabar Development Forum demands resumption of wide-body plane services at Kozhikode airport

There were 190 people onboard the ill-fated aircraft and 21 people, including the two pilots, were killed and several others were injured.The forum on Tuesday also urged that Kozhikode airport should be again made an embarkation point for Haj pilgrimage.

Malabar Development Forum, a not-for-profit group, on Tuesday demanded resumption of wide-body aircraft operations at Kozhikode airport in Kerala.

The airport comes in the Malabar region of the state.

On Tuesday, the forum organised a protest march in the national capital to raise issues related to the airport, followed by a public meeting, which was attended by various Parliamentarians from Kerala, according to a release.

It demanded resumption of wide-body aircraft operations at the airport.

Commercial operations of wide-body planes from the airport were temporarily suspended due to a fatal accident in August last year and prevailing adverse weather conditions.

On August 7, 2020, a Boeing 737 plane coming from Dubai had overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport in Kerala and later broke into pieces. There were 190 people onboard the ill-fated aircraft and 21 people, including the two pilots, were killed and several others were injured.

The forum on Tuesday also urged that Kozhikode airport should be again made an embarkation point for Haj pilgrimage. Besides, it raised concerns about high charges being levied from passengers for RT-PCR test at the airport.

The protest march was inaugurated by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and Lok Sabha MP Abdussamad Samadani. He represents Kerala's Malappuram constituency in the Lok Sabha.

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