Chennai Airport Resumes Commercial Flight Operations

Mangalore Today News Network

Chennai, Dec 06:  Commercial flight operations resumed in Chennai today, four days after the airport was shut due to excessive water-logging. The runway has however been opened only for day-time flights as of now. Train services also resumed this morning after being halted for four days.

 

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

It has been raining intermittently in Chennai since Friday night. The Met department has predicted moderate rainfall for the day.

A decision regarding round-the-clock operations will be taken by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India has said.

The first flight to take off from the airport was a chartered plane. After that, an Air India flight with 150 passengers on board took off for Port Blair.

As water receded and electricity returned in Chennai after days of torrential rain, focus has now shifted to making relief material available to all and preventing outbreak of diseases.

Yesterday, the airport was opened for flights carrying relief supplies for the rain-hit state. The Airports Authority of India had declared the runway fit for operating technical ferry and relief flights after inspection by its staff.

A total 34 aircraft of various airlines were stranded at the airport when the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decided to shut the airport till December 6 after incessant rain inundated the runway.

On an average, Chennai airport handles 320 landings and take-offs in a day, including international flights.

Many areas of the city, which is slowly limping back to normalcy after experiencing record rain, are still waterlogged. Relief efforts by the Army and the national and state disaster response forces are still continuing here.

As water recedes and electricity returns to parts of Chennai, the biggest challenge for authorities is the mammoth task of cleaning up and preventing outbreak of diseases.

Municipal workers have launched a huge cleaning operation all over Chennai, removing slush off streets and pouring bleaching powder in an effort to sanitise areas which have been under water after days of torrential rain.