Flood situation: Kochi airport closed till Sunday 3 pm

The Nedumbassery airport at Kochi in Kerala was closed for operations till 3 pm on Sunday owing to floods.

"Kochi Airport closes operations till 1500 hrs of Sunday," a statement issued on Friday by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said.

According to an official spokesperson of the Cochin International Airport Limited, the runway was closed by 9.30 pm as there were chances of flood water entering the runway. At present, the closure is for a couple of hours. However, it may be extended further after reviewing the situations. Flights to the airports would be diverted to nearby airports.

During the 2018 Kerala floods also the airport was shut for days owing to waterlogging.

Earlier on Thursday, flight operations were suspended for four hours till midnight as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains. Later in the day, it was announced that the airport was closed till Friday 9 am.

A Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) spokesman said the runway area of the airport is waterlogged due to the flood.

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.

(With PTI inputs)