THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After screening over 2 lakh passengers who arrived in Kerala after Covid-19 outbreak entered a crucial stage, four airports in the state have ceased operations for passengers. However, Trivandrum international airport has been included in the list of standby airports in the country, along with four other airports, as it is close to the international air route. The airport will be used for refuelling and technical landing of aircraft that use the international route.
Chennai, Kolkata, Varanasi and Ahmedabad airports are the other standby airports. C V Ravindran, Director, Thiruvananthapuram international airport, told TNIE though the normal functioning of the airport has come to a halt, it would function as standby airport due to its proximity to international air route. The aircraft passing through the international air route can land here for refuelling purpose. Aircraft can also make technical landing. For this purpose some skeletal staff have been pressed into service.
Staff deployed in non-essential wings have been asked to work from home, but personnel attached to air traffic control, radar, fire services, operations, ground lighting and other key wings would work as usual as the air space is open for other flight operations. A few cargo aircraft have been operating from here chiefly to West Asia with strict restrictions, he said. The airport has also screened 1,023 aircraft from January 29, subjecting a total of 1.13 lakh passengers to thermal scanning. Of them 34 tested positive for Covid-19, while 210 were recommended home quarantine.
In the case of Cochin International Airport, cargo flight movement has been progressing. Recently, an Ethiopian flight heading to Japan made emergency landing due to technical reasons.
However, CIAL was not listed as standby airport. After universal screening was made mandatory for all pax on March 3, it has screened as many as 1.1 lakh passengers, including around 74,000 international passengers.
The Calicut international airport has also handled around 56,300 pax after universal screening was made mandatory. All airports have been fumigated. Though the airports have been asked to close till April 14 by the civil aviation ministry, the restrictions are likely to continue even after April 14 taking into account the present situation, said Airports Authority of India officials. However, since there is no ban on cargo movement, cargo aircraft would continue operations.