Amidst speculations about the privatisation of Calicut International Airport, the Centre has made it clear that it has no intention to privatise the airport. This was conveyed by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh in a meeting with Kerala MPs, Remya Haridas and MK Raghavan.
It was also informed that only the privatisation of Trivandrum International Airport has been sanctioned as of now, reports Manorama News.
AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra in a news conference held at Delhi on Friday had hinted that the Calicut International Airport would be privatised in the next phase.
A section of political leaders in the state including PK Kunhalikutty, MP and general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Mullappally Ramachandran, president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, had come out opposing the privatisation of the airport. It had even created a ruckus in IUML, which has a strong hold in the northern districts of the state where the airport is located, as some members of the party criticised Kunhalikutty for openly opposing privatisation of the airport.
Meanwhile, Hardeep Singh has also called for a meeting of Kerala MPs on Thursday to discuss the development of airports in the state. According to reports, the issue of privatisation was not a topic of discussion in the meeting of cabinet ministers held on Wednesday.
The Kerala government is already not pleased with the Centre’s move to privatise Trivandrum International Airport and has openly expressed displeasure multiple times. Along with Trivandrum airport, the Centre had given approval for the privatisation of airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati and Mangaluru also. Adani group has won the bid to run these airports.