Flight operations from the Cochin International Airport Limited will resume from August 29. The airport is said to be among the busiest in the country. However, the operations at the airport had been on halt since August 14 because of flooding and torrential rains.

Due to incessant rains, the runway, taxi bay and other areas of domestic as well as international terminals were submerged. Electrical equipment, including runway lights, were damaged. A Rs 60 crore solar power plant was also submerged. The runway too required some milling work.

To ensure safety, almost all 800 runway lights were to be “removed, tested and refitted”. In the wake of destruction, the airport authorities had been engaged in a huge cleaning operation of the area.Here is the CIAL's Facebook post:

Here is the CIAL's Facebook post:

The airport was first shut on August 9; however, the operations were resumed after a few hours. It was again closed on August 14.

In fact, 2.6 km long airport walls of the Cochin airport had collapsed after water from the overflowing Periyar river entered the complex. The airport had turned into a virtual sea.

As per the CIAL’s initial assessment, it had suffered an estimated loss of Rs 220 crores in the floods. Nearly 200 workers have been engaged in the restoration work of the terminal building.

Rains, floods and landslides in Kerala have claimed 373 lives since May 30, as per the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Officials said around 10.78 lakh people are in 3,200 relief camps across the state.

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