Kerala floods: Kochi airport closure extended, flights likely from August 29

Kochi, Aug 24: Flight operations from the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will resume on August 29.

The airport was shut on August 15 for flights after it was flooded due to heavy rains and efforts were being made to reopen by August 26.

Water has receded from the airport's premises, but it will still take days to make it operational.

Around 800 runway lights at the Kochi airport have been rendered useless due to the floods. About 2,600 metres of periphery walls are damaged, as are the airport's power storage facility and circuits.

The airport has suffered an estimated loss of more than ₹ 220 crore. A few airlines, at present, are operating flights from airports at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, and the Kochi naval airbase.