KOCHI: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) which has currently suspended all its operations from Cochin international airport till 3 pm on Sunday is keeping its fingers crossed on the possibility of operations after that but the airport company is operating round the clock with adequate men and machinery to flush out the water that has intruded into its premises. A CIAL official said that airport can function only if heavy rains do not occur further. “The red alert on Saturday in Ernakulam is a concern. On Friday day time it did not rain much which is an encouraging sign and we hope to resume operations on Sunday afternoon," said the official.
Meanwhile the Navy has conveyed its preparedeness to the state administration to operate the Naval airport for small domestic flights during the Cochin airport shutdown period. CIAL which has to deploy personnel to man the counters has not taken any decision on operating the Naval airport. The CIAL official said that a decision will be taken by Saturday morning. "We have made all arragements for the same and it is for them to take a decision," said a Defence spokesperson.
An Air India Express official said that AIE has cancelled only its Singapore flight. "We have 51 services per week and all 50 flights are operating as per schedule. We have allowed cancellations with refund and will operate all except one flight from Thiruvananthapuram. One flight will be operated from Kozhikode. The passengers have been allowed to modify their tickets according to their convenience also for these three days. But we are not providing any conveyance to Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airport," said the official. An Indigo airline official said that they are allowing free cancellation for the three days when CIAL is not operating.
Air India has rescheduled 12 of its flights on August 10 and 11 from Kochi to operate from Thiruvananthapuram. The numbers of the flight are AI 933/934/047, AI 509/510, AI 511/512, AI 054/682, AI 466, AI 048, AI 681/055, AI 964, AI 963, AI 587 and AI 588.
