With Chennai airport shut, round trip to Bengaluru crosses Rs 1 lakh

As the Chennai airport remains shut and select flights operate from Arakonnam naval base, air fares across airlines have ballooned out of control. Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have indicated they will operate two flights each. Fliers must also carry identity proof as Arakonam naval base airport – about 40 km from Chennai – is a high security zone.

“Once power supply is restored and water evacuation happens, we can restart commercial flight services”, sharma added.

Earlier, the Government had made a decision to use the Arakkonam facility for commercial flights temporarily as the Chennai airport has been closed until December 6 due to the floods.

Meanwhile, with the torrential rains having slowed down to light showers, rescue ops and relief works have intensified as the NDRF and the Navy are taking advantage of the situation to help the stranded people. A single Jet Airways flight from Bangalore to New Delhi on December 7 has been starting from Rs 6,601, going up to Rs 86,016.

Passengers who reach Bangalore with valid tickets from Chennai, whose flights had got cancelled, will be accepted without any additional charge, change fees or cancellation fees, the airline said. The airport was also used for helicopters carrying relief material for the flood affected areas.

The debris has been removed from the operational area and required fix work on runway and taxiways has been carried out while the serviceability status of all airport systems are under evalution.

On a mean, Chennai airport handles 320 landings and departures.

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