GoAir to start direct flights to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai from Kannur

GoAir on Thursday announced direct flight services to Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai from Kannur. With this, Kannur will be GoAir's 24th destination in its domestic network. The flights will begin on December 9, the inauguration day of the newly-built Kannur International Airport. The airport will be inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and junior Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha. GoAir also announced a special flight between Delhi to Kannur to facilitate guest movement on the occasion, the airline said in a statement.

Read |  Patanjali to set up Rs 634 cr mega food park in Vizianagaram

The airline also plans to begin its international operations from Kannur shortly. It will operate six times weekly services to Bengaluru, four times per week to Hyderabad and three times per week to Chennai, the release said. With this launch, GoAir will now operate over 1,600 weekly flights by December end, it said.

The Kannur airport is spread over 2,330 acres of land with a runway length of 3,050 meters. The fourth international one in Kerala and to be operated by Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), it is the second greenfield airport to be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model in Kerala after the Kochin International Airport.

Read | Explosion at IISc Bangalore, researcher killed, 3 critically injured

The Kerala government owns 32.86 per stake in KIAL, while 22.54 per cent stake is held by state and Central Public Sector Undertakings. Another 35.21 per cent holding rests with others, including qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), individuals, companies, while the remaining 9.39 per cent stake is with theAirports Authority of India (AAI). The new airport is expected to serve over million passengers annually.

Read | Gautam Gambhir dismisses differences with MS Dhoni

(With PTI inputs)