Closure of Cochin International Airport affects travel plans of thousands of expatriates
The southern state of Kerala is currently going through an unprecedented rain situation. Most districts in the state are under Red Alert by authorities and normal life has been hit hard.
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been shut down until Saturday (August 18) due to rising floodwaters and it has adversely affected the travel plans of thousands of Qatar’s expatriates based in the state.
For many, who had booked their tickets well in advance, this has proven to be a nightmare. The same is the case with thousands of other expatriates, who were to start from Kochi and transit to other locations via the Hamad International Airport.
CIAL, which is the largest airport in Kerala, has been providing excellent connectivity for passengers to Doha, from where they would go on to North America and Europe.
CIAL management said the airport would be closed until August 18 due to heavy rains and resultant flooding. The runway and the parking area at CIAL, located near the banks of Periyar River, are flooded, reported Gulf Times.
Qatar Airways, in a communique, said it was suspending all flights to Kochi until August 18. It asked passengers to call Qatar Airways’ 24-hour call centre on +974 4023 0000 for further assistance.
— QatarAirways Support (@qrsupport) August 15, 2018
Four airlines – Qatar Airways, Jet Airways, Air India Express and Indigo – currently operates flights to Kochi daily from Doha.
All the airlines are trying to accommodate affected passenger in flights to Kerala’s capital Trivandrum and Kozhikode, where the state’s two other airports are located, reported The Peninsula.
Jet Airways has started to reroute its Kochi-bound flights to other destinations in nearby areas.
“We’ve already rerouted 50% of our passenger to other airports in Kerala and nearby states according to the availability of seats and wish of passengers. We’re doing everything that we can to help passengers. We’re also allowing passengers to change the date of their journey until August 18 without extra charges,” Anshad Ebrahim, the Manager of Jet Airways in Doha, told Qatar Tribune.
These are some of the numbers of airlines that you can call to check with the latest updates.
Qatar Airways — 40230000
Air India Express — 44418423
Jet Airways — 44072222
Oman Air — 44142222
Sri Lankan Airways — 44441217
kindly rectify the statement "The southern state of Kerala".
Kerala is a southern state of INDIA.
"The southern state of Kerala " is not correct..
"The southern state of India " is correct . Kerala is a state of India.
Today Anshad Ibrahim of Jet Airways have come up with extra special discounted business class prices to flood-hit Kochi.
Timing.