Kottayam: After inclement weather forced a shutdown of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) at Nedumbassery till August 26, the Kerala government is making arrangements to land small aircraft at the naval airport in Kochi to reduce inconvenience caused to passengers, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday. He was addressing the media after holding a review meeting of relief and rescue efforts with officials.
Pinarayi also lashed out against airline companies overcharging the people in times of crisis and promised to fix the flight ticket rates.
The Kochi airport is marooned in the rising waters of Periyar River, with the runways and tarmac still waterlogged. A section of the solar plant near the cargo terminal in the solar-powered airport is also submerged in the incessant rain.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the scheduled domestic airlines to launch additional flights. Flights to/from Cochin airport have been shifted to/from Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut and Coimbatore airports. Nine foreign carriers operating to Cochin have also rescheduled their flights to/from Thiruvananthapuram.
The DGCA has also advised domestic airlines to ensure that airfares for flights to/from Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut airports in Kerala and nearby airports, i.e., Mangaluru and Coimbatore, are kept at an optimal level proportionate to sector distance so that travelling public is not inconvenienced. Accordingly, airlines have been requested to cap the maximum fare around Rs 10,000 on longer routes and around Rs 8,000 on shorter routes to/from Kerala and nearby airports.
DGCA has set up a 24x7 control room to look into passenger-related issues pertaining to refund of air ticket, rescheduling of flight and alternate options available to them.