Calicut airport likely to miss wide-body Haj flights for third year

Calicut International Airport is set to miss out on wide-body aircraft for the 2027 Haj season as well, according to the upcoming flight tender. The exclusion stems from incomplete work on the runway-end safety area (RESA), which is now expected to finish only by April next year.

Since the tender process must be concluded well before flight operations begin, airlines have been invited to bid only for smaller aircraft from Calicut. The Central Haj Committee's flight schedule is slated to start on April 8, 2027, with services from 19 embarkation points across India, including Calicut, Kochi, and Kannur.

The tender, covering transport of 1.23 lakh pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, is expected to be opened next week. The absence of wide-body options could further reduce Calicut's share of pilgrims. In 2026, just 944 of Kerala's 13,194 Haj pilgrims departed from Calicut, while Kochi handled 7,943 and Kannur 4,279.

Fare differences have been a major factor. In 2025, tickets from Calicut cost roughly ₹40,000 more than from Kochi or Kannur; that gap narrowed to about ₹20,000 in 2026, yet many pilgrims still chose the cheaper airports. With smaller aircraft expected again in 2027, fares from Calicut are likely to remain higher, prompting more pilgrims to opt for alternate departure points.

Return flights for the regular Haj are scheduled between May 21 and June 20, 2027, with pilgrims typically staying 35 to 45 days in Saudi Arabia. Details of the 20-day 'short Haj' package, expected to serve around 13,000 pilgrims from ten designated airports, will be announced later. Kochi is the only Kerala airport on that list.