Ebix prepaid taxi · 45-60 min from Kannur railway station
Where they are
One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
CCJ7.2+0.8
CNN6.4
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
CCJ6.4+0.4
CNN6.0
Food & retail
Best for
CCJ
Gulf / West Asia corridor trips into Kozhikode and the Malabar hinterlandAir India Express base banks when the ticket matches tonight’s FIDSInternational passengers with an eligible Indian card for Bird Lounge
Watch out for
CCJ
Tabletop runway 10/28 with 2,700 m declared distances — trust today’s A321-class metalSaudi-route cancellations and pauses in Oct 2026; no Priority Pass lounge at allNo terminal metro / rail — eAIP is 28 km from Calicut Railway Station
CCJ · Malabar’s AAI Karipur Gulf gateway: 2.92 million of 3.86 million FY 2025–26 passengers are international, Air India Express is based here, Bird Lounge serves international airside through Indian card programmes, and prepaid taxis cover the 28 km hop from Calicut Railway Station. Trade-offs: a tabletop 10/28 strip, A321-class aircraft, no Priority Pass / LoungeKey / DragonPass lounge, and Saudi-route cancellations in October 2026.
CNN · Kannur is a single swing terminal at Mattannur, opened in December 2018 for north Kerala's Gulf traffic. Financial year 2024-25 was 1,364,038 passengers, about 72 percent of them international, and calendar 2025 is published as about 1.51 million.
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
CCJ6.0+0.6
CNN5.4
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
CCJ6.4+2.0
CNN4.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
CCJ5.4+0.4
CNN5.0
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
CCJ6.2+0.6
CNN5.6
Enrolled Indian / OCI travellers using FTI-TTP e-gates
CNN
Gulf trips on Air India Express or IndiGo from one terminalA shower in Pearl Lounge Departure before a long flightA priced rest in the basement hotel between banks of flights
Do not confuse CCJ with COK / CNN / TRV, and do not swap AAI international / domestic annexes
CNN
Be there 3 hours before an international flight; check-in closes 60 minutes before departureHand baggage liquids are limited to 100 ml containers, and the FAQ prints no bag totalNo rail link, and neither the KSRTC page nor the prepaid-taxi page prints a farePearl's airport page and Priority Pass disagree on the hours and the gate number
Named café / retail mix
Child-care rooms / SHA comforts
Gulf banks + a tabletop strip — build real buffers
Evening Gulf stacks and CISF / CIQ are the clock; FTI-TTP helps only enrolled Indian / OCI passengers.
One Karipur campus — CCJ ≠ COK ≠ CNN ≠ TRV
Single AAI field; the only lounge is Bird Lounge on international airside, via card programmes, not Priority Pass.
Landside sealed water is Plan A — lounge pours need entitlement
Named café counters exist; buy sealed water landside. Bird Lounge drinks are not a public fountain.
