Kerala rains: Kochi airport flooded, operations suspended till Sunday

Kochi: Flight operations at the international airport here have been suspended till Sunday 3pm as floodwaters inundated the apron area (parking area), authorities said.

Earlier on Thursday, flight operations were suspended for four hours till midnight as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains.

“As the apron area is waterlogged due to the flood, all aircraft operations (have been) suspended at Kochi airport till 9 am on August 9,” a statement issued on Thursday by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said.

Flights coming to the airport have been diverted, a CIAL spokesperson said without elaborating.

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

Heavy rains have been battering Kerala for the past few days. Eight people were killed in rain-related incidents in the state on Thursday, bringing back memories of last year’s devastating floods.

The floods in August 2018 had rendered the airport non-functional for a fortnight.

Airport infrastructure was damaged in the floods, with an estimated loss of Rs 220-250 crore.