If you go to the moon, you’ll find a Malayali’s tea stall there. It might be a light-hearted joke, but it speaks volumes about the far-reaching presence of the Malayali diaspora across the globe.
The wanderlust of Keralites knows no bounds, whether it is embarking on a journey to distant lands for work opportunities, pursuing education in foreign universities, or simply indulging in leisurely escapades. Kerala’s four international airports -Kochi, Calicut, Trivandrum, and Kannur- are a testament to this, having emerged as bustling gateways and handling more international passengers than all the airports in any south Indian State.
Interestingly, only Delhi and Mumbai airports, with 1.40 crore and 1.04 crore international passengers respectively during April- December 2023, had rivalled the Kerala airports owing to a myriad of factors, including bilateral air service agreements between India and other nations. The Cochin International Airport had 36.95 lakh international passengers, much higher than either Bengaluru (34.66 lakhs) or Hyderabad (31.26 lakhs), though Chennai airport with a 43.81 lakh tops the list in south India. Calicut International Airport had 19.47 lakh passengers, and Trivandrum with 15.07 lakh is not far behind either, while Kannur had 5.69 lakh passengers during the same period. Being a State with four airports within 600-km and highest population density in the country, this may not come as a surprise.
“The Covid-19 induced lockdown forced us to pack our bags and see the world,” said Vipin S.S., a travel agent based in Kochi. There is a huge rise in the number of Keralites travelling for leisure, especially senior citizens. That 60% of our population can afford to travel, much higher compared to other States, is an incentive. The senior citizens are no longer dependent on their children for their expenses. They utilise their retirement funds mostly for travel,” Mr. Vipin added.
However, many see a flip side to this trend, as it is not just the seniors, but the younger generation too is travelling a lot, for quite a different reason.
“The number of youngsters from Kerala choosing to study abroad is too high compared to other States, many of them with full intention of settling abroad mostly in Europe,” said Zubair Kolakkadan, former president of the Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry, making a commentary on the lack of opportunities for the younger generation here.
C.E. Chakkuni, president of the Malabar Development Council feels that inbound tourism too had a role in increasing passenger traffic in Kerala airports.“Medical tourism, especially Ayurveda, is a big pull towards Kerala. The lower medical expenses make our hospitals attractive to those in West Asia. Calicut being the closest airport reaps the benefits,” he said. The proximity to Munnar and Alappuzha, most popular tourist destinations in Kerala, made Kochi the obvious choice for inbound international tourists, he added.
The achievement of Calicut despite its drawbacks is not forgotten. “It has been quashed by not allowing wide bodied aircraft. This has led to an escalation in airfare from Calicut,” said Mr. Kolakkadan adding that most of the traffic from Kochi could have been from Kozhikode, if the airport had been given due consideration. “We have already raised the demand and are working towards meeting the recommendations made by the Airports Authority of Indiato overcome the restrictions. We will have wide bodied aircraft soon,” said A. Suresh, Director of Calicut International Airport, rejoicing over the airport’s achievements despite the limitations.
