Air Kerala operations will commence from Kannur International Airport by the second half of 2025, announced Air Kerala chairman Afi Ahmed and KIAL MD C Dinesh Kumar during a press conference. The announcement followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a meeting held at Kannur Airport. Air Kerala CEO Harish Kutty and KIAL Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Kumar signed the agreement on Monday. The MoU was exchanged between Air Kerala Chairman Afi Ahmed and KIAL MD C Dinesh Kumar during the press event.

As part of its initial operations, Air Kerala will begin services from Kannur to nearby airports. The plan is to gradually expand daily services based on aircraft availability. In the first phase, domestic services will be operated using ATR aircraft, with a long-term vision to include domestic and international services using single-aisle jet aircraft. The KIAL MD said the collaboration with Air Kerala would be a stepping stone for the development of North Malabar. Air Kerala chairman Afi Ahmed expressed satisfaction with the infrastructure available at Kannur Airport and stated that the airport management is fully supportive of Air Kerala's launch from Kannur, marking a significant milestone in the aviation sector. He added that this partnership with KIAL would encourage the introduction of more domestic and international services, with Kannur International Airport playing a key role in Air Kerala's operations. With this collaboration, KIAL aims for significant growth in the upcoming year. Kannur Airport, which began operations in December 201 8, has achieved the milestone of handling 65 lakhs passengers in just six years.

Read more