When it comes to development, all four international airports in Kerala are on the back foot. Thiruvananthapuram is the first international airport in Kerala but is currently mired with serious flubs. Warnings from central civil aviation come replete for Thiruvananthapuram airport for the dearth of land which plays with the security concerns of the airport.

The more frightening is the situation at Kozhikode Airport. The landing is tabletop while the runway length is not sufficient to avoid accidents. For years there happened a clarion call to initiate reforms in the runway and the landing areas at Kozhikode airport. However, the land-acquiring process nearby got stalled and nobody cared for a follow-up. The central government has asked the authorities to expedite the process to acquire as much as 14 acres of land to increase the runway length.

Not many foreign flights fly from Kozhikode. Albeit this, it is the onus of the state government to acquire land for the airport. According to government insiders, the people near the precinct are cynical of letting go of their prized land to airport authorities. The natives have already helped the airport authority by giving land before. For them, a second time won't fit the bill and they have all reasons to be cautious. Whatever the case. if provided some attractive compensation(far more than what provide until now), the people will surely consider the option to sell their land. However, the state government is mired in too many issues and is lackadaisical to consider the airport project unless there comes another tragedy in the coming years.

The Thiruvananthapuram airport is also in shambles. It was recently that the government acquired 18 acres of land for redeveloping the runway project. However, out of nowhere came the Gujarati business tycoon, Gautam Shantilal Adani. Adani’s takeover of Thiruvananthapuram airport spewed new tensions within the region. The state government is caustic and has confirmed not giving a tinge of land to Adani for redevelopment.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the domestic airport and international are way apart and are placed in different locations. It is arduous for people to catch the flight between the beeline traffic, which is quotidian in the area. It is normal that some passengers may mistake international for domestic and will have to make a run to the other side to catch the flight. The current government's stance of not allying with Adani is puerile and one that serves their political intentions.

However, the people of the city and the state will sweat more with empty dreams of seeing an elite-built airport in the state.