Kochi naval facility starts commercial flights operations

As the Kerala floods create havoc in the beautiful state, there has been uncertainty about travelling to and from the state. Now latest news suggests that from civilian flights resume from the Kochi naval air base today. The local airport at Kochi has been shut for operations amidst heavy rains and floods. As of Monday morning, INS Garuda operated the first commercial flight in nearly two decades.
The decision has been taken after Alliance Air; a subsidiary of Air India successfully conducted a test flight from Bengaluru to Cochin. According to sources, a team was responsible to examine the possibility of flights from the Kochi Naval base, which comprised of officials from Directorate General of Civil Aviaiton (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and Airports Authority of India (AAI).

According to a statement as published on Twitter by Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, “"In view of disruption of flights from Cochin airport due to floods, a joint team sent by @MoCA_GoI (Ministry of Civil Aviation) has approved starting of scheduled commercial flights using ATRs by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, between Bangalore and Cochin Naval Air base,"
After the commencement of the initial service, there are plans for opening other destinations such as Coimbatore and Madurai as well. Other airlines are expected to join in soon. Reports suggest that arrangements have been made for passenger security checks, and an x-ray machine for baggage inspection has also been installed.

This latest development might help the displaced population, and as well as others stranded in the flood to a large extent. As of now, flight operations have been shifted to Calicut and Thiruvananthpuram airports.