Kannur: If one thinks that Kannur is all set to be on the aviation map as works are progressing at hectic pace at the site of the Kannur International Airport near Mattannur, one cannot be more wrong. Kannur was on the aviation map decades ago. And there cannot be a more opportune time for recalling the aviation legacy of Kannur than now when an aircraft is all set to land on the runway of the fourth airport of the State under construction in Kannur on a test flight.
The test flight marks the completion of a phase of the airport coming up in an area nearly 35 km from the district headquarters. What was a mere idea two decades ago and that even drew sceptical response from the public is now set to be a reality. If what Kannur International Airport Ltd. officials and the government promise can be an indication, the airport will be operational this year itself. Kannur will soon be on the international aviation map with the launch of commercial operation of the new airport under construction. But Kannur was clearly marked in the route of the country’s civil aviation that has a history of over a century.
The place of Kannur in the aviation history of the country is fleetingly captured by late industrialist and hotelier Captain Krishnan Nair in his memoir ‘Krishna Leela’ (DC Books, 2011). Expressing his sense of wonder and joy he had felt as a child when he went to the Kotta Maidan (Fort Maidan) to see the aircraft that landed there, he said that it was the sight of the aircraft that landed on the airfield at the Maidan that had triggered in him a dream of travelling in an aircraft. It may be recalled that during the initial period of discussions over the Kannur airport project, Capt. Nair had been keen to be involved in it as a promoter.
Capt. Nair in his memoir was recalling the public excitement when the first aircraft – DH 83 Fox Moth of Tata Airlines - landed on the airfield arranged at the sprawling esplanade at the cantonment area of the Kannur town over 80 years ago.
“It was probably in 1935 when J.R.D. Tata’s first aircraft from Karachi flew to Bombay and from there to Kannur on way to Kochi. That must be unknown to the new generation. The aircraft landed at Kotta Maidan. As children we went to the Kotta Maidan as if we were going to festival,” the late industrialist recalls in his memoir. Some of the children had wanted to touch the aircraft that day, but could not because of security personnel present there, he writes.
29/02/16 The Hindu
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The test flight marks the completion of a phase of the airport coming up in an area nearly 35 km from the district headquarters. What was a mere idea two decades ago and that even drew sceptical response from the public is now set to be a reality. If what Kannur International Airport Ltd. officials and the government promise can be an indication, the airport will be operational this year itself. Kannur will soon be on the international aviation map with the launch of commercial operation of the new airport under construction. But Kannur was clearly marked in the route of the country’s civil aviation that has a history of over a century.
The place of Kannur in the aviation history of the country is fleetingly captured by late industrialist and hotelier Captain Krishnan Nair in his memoir ‘Krishna Leela’ (DC Books, 2011). Expressing his sense of wonder and joy he had felt as a child when he went to the Kotta Maidan (Fort Maidan) to see the aircraft that landed there, he said that it was the sight of the aircraft that landed on the airfield at the Maidan that had triggered in him a dream of travelling in an aircraft. It may be recalled that during the initial period of discussions over the Kannur airport project, Capt. Nair had been keen to be involved in it as a promoter.
Capt. Nair in his memoir was recalling the public excitement when the first aircraft – DH 83 Fox Moth of Tata Airlines - landed on the airfield arranged at the sprawling esplanade at the cantonment area of the Kannur town over 80 years ago.
“It was probably in 1935 when J.R.D. Tata’s first aircraft from Karachi flew to Bombay and from there to Kannur on way to Kochi. That must be unknown to the new generation. The aircraft landed at Kotta Maidan. As children we went to the Kotta Maidan as if we were going to festival,” the late industrialist recalls in his memoir. Some of the children had wanted to touch the aircraft that day, but could not because of security personnel present there, he writes.
29/02/16 The Hindu
