KOCHI: The 21-day lockdown has brought little change to the routines of over 100-odd workers at the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). Even as the airport wears a deserted look following the restrictions on flight services, the workers continue to clean and disinfect every nook and cranny of the premises.
This is for the second time that operations at India’s first public-private partnership (PPP) model airport have come to a grinding halt, ever since it started functioning in 1999. It may be recalled that in 2018, the airport had to be shut down from August 15 to 29, after floodwaters inundated the runway and damaged nearly 800 runway lights.
Though commercial airline services have been grounded due to the lockdown, certain special flights still operate from the airport to transport cargo and select passengers. This makes it mandatory for the authorities to ensure that the airport continues to be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly. “Over 100 workers clean the airport premises daily. The airport is expected to follow all safety guidelines and our staff is delivering on this,” said P S Jayan, CIAL spokesperson. “This is especially necessary because a few cargo flights are still operating,” he added.
Meanwhile, a few commercial flights carrying Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) from the Middle East are expected to land at the airport in the coming days, with both the state and Union governments seriously considering the evacuation of those stranded in Gulf countries. At the same time, with the Centre planning a partial lift in the lockdown from April 14, the domestic air services are also expected to resume.
Keeping this in view, the airport authorities have put in place stringent social distancing measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. After India shut down international flight services on March 22, as many as three special flights had operated from the Cochin airport to evacuate stranded citizens of France, Oman and Maldives.