Kochi airport, which was shut on August 15 after heavy flooding, will resume operations on August 29.
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) issued a statement on Wednesday, saying a meeting was held to review the damages caused in the flooding.
It said, “90 percent of their staffers got affected with the flood and are out of station. Nearby hotels, restaurants and eateries still remain closed.”
The CIAL, which estimated the losses at over Rs 220 crore, added that it is “daunting task to arrange local communication, logistics of catering items which will cause a cascading effect on the passengers”.
The Kochi airport will start functioning at 2 pm on Wednesday, next week.
CIAL management has started working on rebuilding the damaged infrastructure, including 2.5 km long airport walls that collapsed after the Periyar river overflowed.
The runway, taxi bay, duty free shops and other areas of international and domestic terminals were also submerged, causing damage to electrical equipment including runway lights, an official noted, according to PTI.
He said the solar power system of the world's first solar-powered airport has also suffered damage in the floods.
"We have launched efforts on a war-footing to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Our initial assessment is that we have suffered an estimated loss of Rs. 220 crores in the floods," the official said, adding around 200 workers have been engaged to clean up the terminal building.
Meanwhile, the Naval Air Station, INS Garuda, has commenced civil aircraft operations from Monday.
Alliance Air (a subsidiary of Air India) was able to operate two flights to Bangalore and one flight to Coimbatore.
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