Protests escalate over denial of ‘point-of-call’ for Kannur airport

People talking about it more. From the article(hoping that it'd come under fairdealing): > The protests gained momentum after the Union government reiterated its stand that point-of-call status would be granted only to metro cities, disqualifying Kannur. On Monday, the CPM, led by state secretary M V Govindan, organised a protest march towards the airport. > “Around 20 foreign companies have expressed interest to start services from Kannur airport. The only step remaining is Centre’s permission. All the companies that contacted KIAL for services are running in profit,” Govindan said. > “The Modi government is declaring war on Kerala. The Centre is spreading propaganda that the airport is in a village. This is a form of neglect and vendetta that the Centre should not wage against any state,” he said. > Meanwhile, an expatriate group, Team Historic Flight Journey, comprising the first passengers from Kannur airport, staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Tuesday morning. The group had met Union ministers, MPs, and aviation officials over the past few days and submitted memoranda to consider the airport for the key status.