Day-time passenger flights to operate from Chennai tomorrow

A decision regarding full-fledged operations will soon be taken by the aviation regulator DGCA.

Two C-17 from “INS Rajali” airbase in Arakkonam, about 60 km west of Chennai, and one C-130 J aircraft at Tambaram airbase, have been stationed for reconnaissance missions, they said. On December 2, AAI had announced that the airport would be shut till December 6 after heavy rains caused flooding of the runway and nearby operational areas.

Domestic airlines have jacked up their fares multifold for flights landing and departing from the airports closer to Chennai in the wake of heavy rains in the state and subsequent closure of the capital city airport. As many as 20 global airlines operate from the airport, apart from most of the domestic carriers.

Four ferry flights that were parked at Chennai Airport departed for Delhi, Mumbai and Port Blair on Saturday while one Cargo flight Singcargo B747 departed for Singapore via Bengaluru. The operations at the airport have been suspended after water entered the runway following incessant rains for over a week now. The flight charges for Bengaluru to Delhi is Rs.8,500.

“This was bound to happen”.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is monitoring the situation and the government might intervene if fares continue to skyrocket, said sources.

According to travel portal MakeMyTrip, a flight from Bengaluru to Ranchi was being sold at Rs 1,26,039 on Friday morning and a one-way economy class air-ticket on the Delhi-Bengaluru sector was as high as Rs 39,000 (inclusive of taxes and surcharge).

He added that four flights, including those of Air India will resume today and four flights had carted around 319 stranded passengers back home yesterday.