Kannur International Airport (KIAL) Kannur International Airport (KIAL) is an upcoming international airport located at Mattanur in Kannur District, Kerala, India. The airport is the fourth international airport in Kerala. Kannur International Airport is expected to be operational by 2015. The department is hoping to conclude test flights by December 2015 and commercial flight operations commencing by April 2016. The airport will be built over 2000 acres of land and will have a single runway, to begin with. The proposal for the development of the ‘Kannur International Airport’ received ‘in principle’ approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2008. Government of Kerala has floated a company by the name Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) for the development of the airport. Main Objective – To provide an international gateway in the northern Malabar region with state-of-the art facilities to support safe, efficient and cost effective travel for foreign tourists and ‘non-resident’ Indians from Kerala, as well as domestic passengers. Kannur Airport is located at a distance of 25 km from Kannur. The airport location is 19 kilometers away from National Highway 17(NH-17) and 4 kilometers away from Tellicherry-Mysore Highway. More than 8 roads are to be developed for connecting to the Airport, which includes Kannur (Melechovva)-Mattannur road, Thalassery-Mattannur road, Thalassery–Anjarakandy–Airport road, Thalassery–Nadapuram Road, Karnataka Border -Iritty – Mattannur Road, Wayanad (Mananthavadi) – Nedumpoil – Mattannur road, Payyanur/Ezhimala–Mattannur road, Thalassery–Mahe Bypass, etc. Thalassery–Mattannur road will be upgraded to 4/6 lanes, considering the availability of required land for widening.