Cochin International Airport - Kochi, India - Airports on Waymarking.com

The architecture of this airport is fascinating. Overall a pleasant airport, well organized, relatively modern and easy to use. Not so far from the city center, an easy ride with a taxi or Uber car.

Official website (visit link)

From Wikipedia (more details in the article):
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Kochi's airport began as an airstrip on Willingdon Island, built in 1936 by the Kingdom of Cochin, intended for transporting officials involved in the development of the Cochin Port. The Kingdom of Cochin allowed the British, who ruled India at the time, to convert the airstrip into a military airport for use by the Indian Navy during World War II. The Royal Navy chose it as a strategic site for their headquarters in Southern India and as an air station cum landing craft and seaplane base. The military facility hosted naval fighter planes and was intended to thwart possible Japanese air raids.[13] A small naval unit set up operations just two days before the outbreak of World War II.

After India achieved dominion status and the merger of the Kingdom of Cochin with India, the Indian Navy operated the airport, though it permitted civilian aircraft to use the facility. The Gulf economic boom of the 1980s made it necessary to develop international connections to Kochi in the interests of expatriates working in the Middle East.


The airport was constructed right by the Periyar river seen from a landing plane.
The original proposal for the airport outlined an estimated cost of ?1 billion (US$13 million) and an expected date of commission in 1997. Approval was granted in May 1993. The funding was envisaged to be from interest-free loans from non-resident Indians working abroad, donations from industrial undertakings, exporters, cooperative societies and loans from the state government. A body called the Cochin International Airport Society, under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Kerala K. Karunakaran, was registered in July 1993 to execute the project. To better fund mobilization, as well as an administrative convenience, a public limited company under the name Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) was registered in March 1994 with an authorized capital of ?900 million (US$11 million).

In 1996, E. K. Nayanar took over as chairman of the CIAL project. The construction picked up momentum during this period and Nayanar ensured that the airport project received special attention from the State Government and gave his unstinted support to CIAL. By 1997, substantial land was taken into CIAL possession through negotiated settlements. A total of 491 ha (1,213 acres) of land was acquired for the construction of the airport. Approximately 2,300 landowners and 872 families were resettled under a rehabilitation package.[19] Major electric lines and an irrigation canal had to be diverted. The facility was formally inaugurated by the then President of India, K. R. Narayanan on 25 May 1999 and the first commercial service began on 10 June 1999. The operations from the old naval airport were moved to CIAL on 1 July 1999."

Type: International ICAO Airport Code: VOCI IATA Airport Code: COK FAA Identifier: Not listed

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