The environmental clearance issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) will not be sufficient to set up an international airport at Aranmula, point out aviation experts. There were protests from various quarters against the clearance issued by the MoEF. “But the fact is that the promoters will not be able to make it an international airport, as the government has permitted them to construct only a 1,000-m long runway on which most passenger aircrafts cannot be operated.
“The MoEF granted clearance for constructing a runway of just 1,000 m. The aircraft that can be operated on this runway is ATR42-300, which is the smallest aircraft used by scheduled airline companies. The minimum runway length (takeoff field length) required for this 45-seat turbo-prop aircraft is 1,040 m. In addition, it is mandatory to allot 90 m on both ends of the runway as runway end safety area (RESA). After this, the total effective length of the runway will reduce to 820 metres, instead of the 2,800 m the promoters have asked for,’’ points out Jacob K Philp, a civil engineer interested in aviation. He edits the portal: indianaviationnews.net.
The maximum distance an ATR 42-300 aircraft can fly non-stop is 840 nautical miles (1,556 km). This means the aircraft cannot fly nonstop to even to Delhi. “It is stated on the Aranmula airport portal that the runway length will be 3,100 x 45 meters and the airport will cater to big aircraft such as Airbus A-320 and Boeing 747. Going by the conditions laid down, the promoters will just be able to construct a very small airport with an 820 m runway, from which just Air India would be able to operate,” he said.
KGS airport authorities have claimed that they have obtained a permission to construct a 2,800-m runway. “We understand that the 1,000 m mentioned in the letter of clearance means an extension to the existing 1,000 m,” said P T Nandakumar, who is the executive director of company.
‘Allay people’s concerns on project’
Kottayam: The NSS has called upon people’s representatives and administrative regime to allay the concerns of people over the proposed Aranmula International Airport project. In a press release issued here on Wednesday, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair warned that handling of issues trivially would lead to serious consequences in the future. He said that both Centre and State Governments should ensure that the proposed project will not have any repercussion over the cultural heritage of Aranmula. “It is a fact that people’s representatives, airport authorities and political leaderships failed to provide awareness to the public on the airport project.