Kochi International Airport paralyzed due to incessant rains

KOCHI: Cochin International Airport, which records the fourth largest international traffic country, has been paralyzed due the incessant rains in the state since 4am on Wednesday and airport official suggest the temporary discontinuation in operation might prolong if the rains do not stop.
Airport had seized its arrival operations at 4am as precautionary step on Wednesday morning but situation continued to worsen, with flooding in and around the airport, Cial officials called-off all operations it 2pm at around 5.30am.Cial’s operations are expected to be compromised for a total of 10-hours.
From 4.20am onwards, 12 international flights have been diverted, 2 international flights canceled and four flights delayed. As many as 14 domestic flights have been canceled and 11 domestic flights have been delayed.
“Most of the that have been diverted, have headed towards Thiruvananthapuram Airport and some have have been diverted to Coimbatore. If the rain continue, we expected the operations at the airport to be effected for a longer period of time,” said Cial official.
With Onam and Eid home coming on the horizon, several passengers heading home from Middle East for the festive season have been left stranded by the floods, with flights from Dubai, Doha, Jeddah and Colombo being delayed.
According to the latest updates, Kochi airport operations have been temporarily suspended till August 18, 2pm since the inflow of water is still on a raising trend.