Cochin international airport resumes operations

Operations at the Cochin international airport were halted since August 14

Cochin international airport resumes operations All domestic and international flights from CIAL have resumed | Robert Vinod

The Cochin international airport has resumed operations a fortnight after it was shut due to flooding.

An IndiGo flight from Pune landed at the airport at 2.05 pm on Wednesday.

As many as 33 flights are scheduled to land at the airport and 30 to leave on Wednesday.

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) had said in a statement that all domestic and international services will resume from August 29. Private carriers Jet Airways and IndiGo have also said they will restart services from Wednesday.

Civil aircraft operations from the Naval Air Station, which had commenced as an alternate arrangement, will also end on Wednesday.

Authorities have said people will be able to book tickets at the CIAL airport located at Nedumbassery from August 29.

Cochin international airport resumes operations Private carriers have restarted services | Robert Vinod

The CIAL suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 220 crore due to the floods and operations were halted since August 14. The airport shutdown followed the floods this month that were worsened by the opening of the sluice gates of several dams in Kerala following heavy rain.

Airport officials had said the runway, taxi bay, duty-free shops and other areas of international and domestic terminals were submerged causing damage to electrical equipment, including runway lights.

The power system of the world's first solar-powered airport had also suffered damages in the floods.

The devastating deluge and several landslides since last month left nearly 400 people dead and displaced over 14 lakh people in Kerala.