KOCHI: It was an unusual day at the international terminal of Kochi airport. The driveways and entrances to both departure and arrival sections at terminal 3 -- normally one of the busiest in terms of the number of passengers to the Gulf -- remained deserted throughout Sunday.
Given the conflict in West Asia and the closure of airspace and airports by many Gulf nations, more than half of the flights from Kochi were cancelled, stranding a few passengers in the early hours of the day.
According to airport officials, around 70% of international flight traffic from Kochi were affected on Sunday.
As many as 51 international departures were scheduled from Kochi on Sunday, besides 52 arrivals. While the airport authorities had by Saturday night notified around 20 flight cancellations for March 1, Sunday morning saw almost all flights to Gulf countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar being cancelled.
A few, however, operated services to airports in Saudi Arabia and Muscat in Oman. Thirty-eight flights to cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Doha and Salalah, and Bahrain were cancelled by different airlines, while 36 flights slated to arrive also did not depart from the said cities. The authorities have issued an advisory, asking passengers to check the flight status before arriving at airports in Kerala.