Kerala rains: Kochi airport resumes operations, flight from Abhu Dhabi first to land

Kochi, Aug 11: Flight operations from the international airport here resumed on Sunday afternoon, two days after it was shut due to inundation of the runway area following heavy rains, an official said.

The Abu Dhabi-Kochi Indigo flight touched down at around 12.15 pm, marking the resumption of the operations, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) official said.

Check-in commenced at 9 am in both the domestic and international terminals.

The Kochi International airport had on Friday suspended all operations till Sunday as the runway area in the airport was waterlogged due to floods.

The operations were suspended as there was a rise in water level in Periyar river and a canal adjacent to the airport due to heavy rains.

Heavy rains have been battering Kerala for the past few days and claiming 42 lives, bringing back the memories of the worst floods in August last year.

The airport was rendered non-functional for a fortnight in August 2018 due to inundation.

It had suffered damage to infrastructure, including a 2.6 km long wall that collapsed after the Periyar river overflowed.

The estimated loss was then put between Rs 220-250 crore.