Cochin International Airport opens after two weeks (representational image)
The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) on Wednesday commenced normal operations after a two-week closure due to floods in Kerala. It was shut on August 15 after the airport was flooded, causing widespread damage to infrastructure.
The first aircraft, a domestic flight, touched down at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, airport officials said. CIAL authorities said that in a day or two, the airport would be functional like earlier. For the past three days, more than 1,000 people were engaged in putting the airport back in order, cleaning and repairing the systems which became non-functional after flood waters entered the complex.
According to CIAL, the disaster has caused a loss of around Rs 300 crore to the airport. A temporary compound wall has been erected after the earlier one was washed away.
The airport was first closed on August 9, for a few hours, after which it was again shut on August 15. The Cochin airport is the busiest of three airports in Kerala and handled 10 million passengers in 2017-18 fiscal.
