Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu jointly inaugurated the Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) on Sunday.
KIAL is the fourth international airport in the state. The other three are Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.
With the commissioning of KIAL today, Kerala becomes the state with the highest density of airports.
Vijayan and Prabhu flagged off the first flight – an Air India Express – with 180 passengers bound for Abu Dhabi. All passengers received a gift each from KIAL.
The inauguration ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of people as well as politicians. A cultural programme was held before the departure of the first flight.
Two more flights were listed for the day.
Prabhu had on Saturday tweeted that the strategically located airport “offers convenience and connectivity to the people of North Kerala and South Karnataka”.
Flights that would operate from here includes those to the UAE, Oman, Qatar, besides domestic ones to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai among others.
The KIAL is slated to serve more than 1.5 million international passengers annually.
It is expected to boost tourism in Kannur, Kasargode, Wayanad and increase trade and commerce in the handloom and spices sectors.
The airport would be able to handle 2,000 passengers at a time.
(With inputs from agencies.)