Calicut International Airport
Calicut International Airport, also known as Karipur Airport, is an International Airport serving the cities of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Malappuram in Kerala, India. The airport is located in Karipur, Malappuram district about 25 km (16 mi) from the city of Malappuram and 28 km (17 mi) from the Kozhikode Railway Station, with the closest railway station being at Feroke. Air India Express has a base at the airport. It is the seventh busiest airport in the country in terms of international passenger traffic and the ninth busiest airport in India in terms of overall passenger traffic.The airport was given the international airport status on 2 February 2006, thereby paving the way for the improvement of infrastructure for handling international flights. It is the third busiest airport in Kerala.HistoryThe airport was sanctioned after a long period of struggle which began in 1977 under the leadership of freedom fighter K. P. Kesava Menon. Funds were collected from Gulf Malayalis for its development in the 1990s when the Union Government said it did not have funds. To raise the funds needed for airport development, the Malabar International Airport Development Society was formed. Later major developments of facilities, such as extension of runway from 6,000 ft (1,800 m) to 9,000 ft (2,700 m) to facilitate operation of wide-body aircraft were carried out with loans from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).