Chelari Airport was an airstrip built in 1962 in Chelari, it was owned by Birla group, they used this airport for traveling to their factory in Calicut, it was located in Chelari, Tenhipalam village panchayat in Malappuram district of Kerala, now the area is owned by the Indian Oil Company.
After the plane landed, a rope was attached and entry was prohibited.
When Indira Gandhi and her family came to visit Thirurangadi Yatimkhana and also after Indira's death Rajiv Gandhi came down to Chelari twice when he became the Prime Minister.
On 17 January 1969, a Douglas C-47A VT-DTH cargo plane owned by Hindu Publications crashed here.
[6] The plane crashed when it was trying to take off after dropping the newspapers at Chelari.