Wayanad district’s long-pending dream to have an airstrip has moved one step forward with the Kerala government entrusting KIIFCON-RITES, a joint venture firm, to conduct a feasibility study on the available pieces of land, preferably closer to the district headquarters, Kalpetta.
“Besides Wayanad, the firm will conduct feasibility studies in Kasaragod and Idukki districts as well and the further plan of action will depend on the studies,” said Vijayasree K.S., Additional Secretary, Department of Transport.
Though the demand for an airstrip in Wayanad is a decade old, the State government has renewed the efforts post the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides in 2024. However, the inability to identify a suitable piece of land, at least 1,800 m in length, in the hilly district remains one of the major hurdles.
A feeder airport in Wayanad is expected to come handy during emergencies besides alleviating the travel woes of the people and boosting development and tourism in the district. The Malabar Chamber of Commerce had mooted the idea following which representatives of the State and Union governments conducted studies in 2019. “We had suggested several locations, but they were all found unsuitable,” said C.E. Chakkunni, president, Malabar Development Council.
At Elstone Estate
A team led by Biju Prabhakar, the then Transport Secretary, conducted a site inspection at Elstone Estate in Kalpetta in July 2023, a year before the landslides struck Chooralmala and Mundakkai. However, it was found unsuitable for the airstrip due to the surrounding hills. A portion of the estate has now been taken over by the State for the construction of a township for the landslides survivors.
In August 2024, the department entrusted the Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail) with floating tenders for the feasibility study and KIIFCON-RITES won the bid.
Though there is enough uninhabited land in the district, finding a space where the hills will not affect air traffic is the challenge before the authorities. Since a large segment of the population in Wayanad is agrarian, paddy fields have been excluded from the project, so have been the reserve forests and wildlife sanctuaries.
Distance rules
Another major impediment to the project is Wayanad’s proximity to the Kannur International Airport at Mattannur and and the Calicut International Airport at Karipur. As per the rules of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, an airstrip can be built only at a certain distance from the nearest airport. Hence, no spot in Mananthavady can be considered as it is too close to Mattannur.
Funds sanctioned
Despite the setbacks, the State government sanctioned ₹1.17 crore for the study and another ₹4.51 crore to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) in the State Budgets of 2023 and 2024, respectively. Another ₹1.50 crore was sanctioned in the 2025-26 Budget to prepare the DPRs for the three airstrips.
Several strips of land, including the premises of the Karapuzha reservoir, are being considered for the Wayanad project.
Published – June 24, 2025 06:21 pm IST
