In news that will bring relief to travellers, the Cochin International Airport on Saturday afternoon announced that it will resume operations at 12pm on Sunday, more than two days after services were suspended due to flooding of runways. On Friday, Cochin International Airport had announced it was planning to resume services by 3pm on Sunday.
In a message on its Facebook page, Cochin International Airport called on airlines to facilitate schedules accordingly. “Kochi Airport is ready. Flight operations will begin at 12 noon tomorrow; that is ahead of deadline. Airlines are instructed to facilitate services accordingly,” the handle informed.
On Saturday, six of the eight aircraft stranded since Thursday night departed from Cochin International Airport as efforts to drain water from the runway progressed. CIAL Managing Director V.J. Kurian noted the departures showed that there were no major issues in recommencing operations. He added some cleaning work was pending.
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All six aircraft that flew out of Cochin International Airport were in 'ferry' mode, that is without passengers.
On Friday and Saturday, dozens of domestic and international flights had to be cancelled or diverted due to closure of Cochin International Airport.