KOCHI:After a flood-induced break of 14 days, the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery will resume full-scale operations from Wednesday afternoon.It took almost seven days to complete the restoration work to enable resumption of operations, CIAL authorities said here on Tuesday. The first flight on resumption is expected to land at 2 pm.
“The restoration was launched on August 20 and the efforts of more than 1,000 people who worked round the clock are behind the resumption of services from the terminal. A temporary wall was constructed to a length of 2.5 km and 800 runway lights were replaced,” a CIAL officer said.
A majority of the solar panels damaged in the floods were reinstated, with the airport authorities optimistic of producing power to the tune of 20 MW from Wednesday. Meanwhile, both international and domestic operations will commence on Wednesday at 2 pm. Airline companies will follow the current schedule for operations and passengers can book tickets based on journey planners on or after August 29.
CIAL suspended its operations on August 15 after floodwater entered the facility, with the airport incurring losses to the tune of Rs 300 crore. The boundary wall of the operation area was damaged and the parking area and the terminal building were also submerged. Though the runway was intact, it got filled with mud and slurry. Mud also accumulated on the three terminal buildings, apron lounge and on a nearly 30 lakh square feet area in the facility.