Nearest Airport To Guruvayur - Cochin International Airport (IATA: COK, ICAO: VOCI) is an international airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about 25 km (16 mi) northeast of the city, Cochin International Airport is the first airport in India developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model and was funded by nearly 10,000 non-resident Indians from 30 countries.
It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala. As of 2017, the Cochin International Airport caters to 63.86% of the total air passenger movement in Kerala. It is also the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of international traffic and seventh busiest overall. In fiscal year 2016-17, the airport handled close to 9 million passengers handling around 234 aircraft movements a day. The airport is a primary base for Air India Express operations which is also headquartered in the city. With over 2 million sq ft in area, the airport's Terminal 3 is India's fourth largest terminal. On 18 August 2015, Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport with the inauguration of a dedicated solar plant.
The original air facilities in Kochi was an aerodrome and airstrip on Willingdon Island, built in 1936 by the British Residency of Kingdom of Kochi, intended for transporting British officials involved in the development of Cochin Port. The airstrip was converted into a military airport 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. A small naval unit set up just two days before the outbreak of World War II.
After Indian Independence, 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 transportation to Kochi in the interests of expatriates working in the Middle East. In October 1990, the Kerala Chamber of Commerce, supported by local industry, passed a resolution to expand the naval airport to accommodate large jets and facilitate direct flights to the Middle East. The resolution was rejected by the Navy for security reasons. However, the government of India's Airports Authority of India did not have enough funds to commence a greenfield airport.This led to the formation of a novel idea of collecting funds from the public and individuals to construct an airport, which was indeed for the first time in India. The idea was put forward by V. J. Kurien IAS, then the district collector of Ernakulam.
