Karipur International Airport : Completes the transportation requirements of Calicut

Owing to its historical significance, urbanization, beautiful landscape, and tourism, Calicut is one of the most desirable districts to live in. Reliable transportation is one of the major factors that draw people to settle at a place and Calicut has that covered.

The district is well connected with a network of rail, road, and air travel services. Vatakkara, and Thamarassery, parts of Calicut are the major transport hubs in the district. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) run buses regularly to different parts of the district and outside the district. Apart from these, private buses are frequently used too. One would notice that private buses follow a unique colour code for different districts. Red buses can be seen in Ernakulam, blue in Trivandrum and Kozhikode’s private buses are green in colour. National highway 66 runs through the district connecting Kozhikode to Mumbai via Mangalore, Udupi, and Goa to the North. National highway 766 connects Kozhikode to Bangalore, via Mysore, Nanganjud, and Kalpetta. National highway 966 connects the district to Coimbatore via Palakkad. Added to that, this road connects the city to the Calicut International Airport.

The history of the railway network dates back to 1861 where Kozhikode was a part of Malabar. The first railway track was laid to connect Tirur and Beypore. Today the district is well connected to different places like Trivandrum, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mangalore, Mumbai, etc.

Mass Rapid transport System (MRTS) has been proposed for the district. A proposal for Light Metro Rail was introduced in 2010 and in 2012, the government sanctioned to implement the monorail. Six state highways, S28, S29, S54, S68, S34, and S38 run through Calicut.

The airport got its sanction under the leadership of late K.P Kesava Menon in 1977. It was inaugurated in 1988 and got the status of an International Airport in February 2006. As of October 2018, the authorities have notified that the airport is ready to accommodate additional domestic and international flights. Karipur airport director K Srinivasa Rao recapitulated that the intention behind this move is to make travel more convenient for the Non-residential Keralites who tend to get stranded at various airports in the Middle East due to the cancellation of flights to Kochi. Karipur airport completes the transportation requirements of Calicut district.

With the transportation facilities listed above, one can be assured of a reliable and well connected transport network , thus, further enhancing Kozhikode’s status as one of the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala.