Kochi: Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on Wednesday suspended all flight operations till Saturday as water level increased in the airport area following continuous rain and the floods. All incoming and outgoing flights have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram or Calicut.
The airport was flooded after shutters of the Cheruthoni dam, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened Tuesday evening to release excess water. The airport is situated near the banks of Periyar.
The Civil Aviation Ministry acceded to the state's request to utilise other airports in Kerala, instead of diverting the flights to Mumbai and other places.
Civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted, "We have asked all airlines, domestic and foreign, to reschedule their Cochin flights either from Trivandrum or from Calicut. For international flights, this will require special dispensation which has been granted considering the emergency. DGCA is coordinating."
To the Kerala government's request to allow small aircraft to land at the naval airport in Kochi, the minister said they were exploring alternative landing places for small aircraft.
The minister also said that he had directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airport Authority to provide call centre facility to all stranded passengers as well as to provide requisite support to all rescue agencies so that 'we ensure best possible solution to those unfortunately suffering from fury of nature'.
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Earlier, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan called an urgent meeting at the Secretariat. The chief minister asked officials to make necessary arrangements to take passengers, who may be landing in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, to their respective places by state-run buses.
The CIAL, which decided to suspend the arrival operations at 4 am to 7 am today as a precautionary measure, had earlier said the airport would be shut till 2 pm.
It later issued another advisory saying the operations have been suspended till Saturday afternoon.
A spokesperson of the airport said, "Kochi Airport operations have been temporarily suspended till Saturday 2 pm as the inflow of water is still on a rising trend. We are working hard to drain out the storm water."
In the morning hours, passengers faced problems due to suspension of operations as they had already reached the airport to catch flights. They complained of not getting assistance from any authorities.
The arrival operations at the airport were suspended for two hours on August 9 in view of possible inundation in the airport area. The operations were resumed later on.
Rain has claimed at least 47 lives in the state.
According to weathermen, heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds with speed reaching 60 kmph, is likely in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode districts.
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