COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Publish Date : 08/06/2018

The first airport in Kochi located in the vicinity of the Naval Base was close to the Wellington Island. As a small airport, it failed to cater to the needs of the ever-expanding Cochin city. In the early 1990’s the then Chief Minister of Kerala, K. Karunakaran took the initiative to build a new airport with all modern amenities in view of the multilevel developments gathering momentum within the District. In March 1994, a public limited company named Kochi International Airport Ltd with a capital of 90 crores was registered. V.J. Kurien, the then District Collector, was appointed as its Managing Director. One hundred and thirty acres of land in the Nedumbassery village, 26 KMs away from the City, was set apart for the construction of the international airport. On the 25th of May 1999, His Excellency, Sri. K R Narayanan, Hon’ble President of India, announced the historic opening of Cochin International Airport, in the presence of Sri. Sukhdev Singh Kang, Hon’ble Governor of Kerala, Sri. E K Nayanar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. Ananth Kumar, Hon’ble Union Minister of Civil Aviation and several other dignitaries.

The airport has the capacity to accommodate 20,000 tonnes of cargo. In 2017-2018, a new Block was constructed to house the increasing number of international flights and passengers. Air India flights and all the private aircraft operate from the domestic terminal helping passengers reach and return from major Indian cities within hours. Passengers can fly directly to the Gulf countries, Malaysia and Singapore from the international terminal.