Face of Nation : The Kochi airport will be closed till Sunday afternoon as floodwaters have left the runway waterlogged, authoritiessaid. On Thursday night, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) announced that flight operations would be suspended till 9 am on Friday as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains lashing the region. Flights coming to the airport were diverted.
The situation continued to be grim on Friday. “Kochi Airport closes operations till 1500 hrs of Sunday (11/08/2019),” a statement said on Friday.
A CIAL spokesperson said the runway area of the airportis waterlogged due to the flood. Operations were suspended as water levels rose in the Periyar river and a canal adjacent to the airport due to heavy rain.
Torrential rains in various parts of Kerala over the last few days has led to 22 people being killed and over 22,000 people being shifted to relief centres, officials said. The airport was non-functional for a fortnight in August 2018 due to inundation. It suffered extensive damage, 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.
