An Air India Express spokesperson said that the Jeddah-Kozhikode flight was diverted to the Cochin International Airport and "made a precautionary landing due to suspected damage to the aircraft's tyre likely caused by a foreign object on the runway at Jeddah airport".
The state government has 35 per cent stake in the airport, and the terminal would have the capacity to handle 2,000 passengers at a time, Minister for Ports and Airport K Babu said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
'In India, there is this first generation migrant, say from a small village in UP. He didn't go to the Gulf to buy a big house but make the life of his family better.' 'He may have paid 1 lakh rupees to an agent to go to the Gulf. Imagine what will happen to him and his family if he has to come back. He and his family will become poor again.' 'He went to the Gulf to come out of poverty, but this war will make his family trapped in poverty once again.'
Kerala police on Sunday arrested four Central Industrial Security Force personnel in connection with destruction of property during the June 10 clash at Karipur airport.
Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant Thadiyantavida Naseer, arrested recently for his alleged involvement in terror attacks in various parts of the country, was brought to Kozhikode from Bengaluru on Friday for questioning in connection with some cases in the state.Naseer and Shafaz were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles personnel and subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force on December 2. They were brought to Bengaluru where they were questioned about serial blasts.
The Kozhikode international airport at nearby Karipur in Mallapuram district of Kerala, which had been temporarily shutdown after violence erupted on Wednesday night following the death of a Central Industrial Security Force jawan, began operations on Thursday morning with arrival of two flights.
Kerala Home minister Ramesh Chennithala said an inquiry has been ordered.
The 30-member team will be headed by Malappuram Additional Superintendent of Police G Sabu, a government release said.
The DGCA pointed to cracks on the runway, water stagnation and excessive rubber deposits among other lapses in its show-cause notice. The DGCA conducted the inspection after an Air India Express flight coming from Dammam in Saudi Arabia had a 'tail strike' while landing at the Calicut (Kozhikode) airport on July 2 last year, an official said.
'The lay of the runway is not at all safe.' 'Even operating a 737 is dangerous there.' 'During the monsoon, they must ban landing on runway 10.'
Accusing Air India operating international flights from Karipur Airport in Kozhikode, of flying 'outdated' aircraft, the Kerala Pravasi Association demanded a detailed probe into the matter.
'Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the ill-fated aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) is conducting investigations,' Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, as fresh questions were raised on the safety parameters of the runway.
Along with IAF officials, the AAIB will also reach out to experienced private sector executives, meteorologists, and aviation psychologists to be part of the probe.
He also assured the kin of victims that steps would be taken to get them compensation in line with an international convention of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Taking stock of the crash of the Dubai-Kozhikode AIE flight in Kozhikode and the relief measures, the minister said pilot in-command of the plane, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, among those killed in the accident, was one of the most experienced commanders with more than 10,000 flying hours.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 83 people were under treatment at various hospitals and the condition of 22 of them was 'serious'.
The decision to suspend the operations was taken after shutters of the Idamalayar and Cheruthoni dams, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened on Tuesday evening to release excess water.
