SriLankan Airlines, the largest foreign carrier into India, resumed its services to the southern Indian city of Cochin on 30th August, which had been suspended since 15th August due to the worst flooding in the state of Kerala in nearly a century.
Cochin International Airport was closed on August and reopened on 29th August, with the first flights being domestic services, followed shortly by international carriers. SriLankan’s first flight following the resumption departed Colombo at 0747 hours.
During the closure of the Cochin Airport SriLankan Airlines had introduced a series of measures to mitigate inconvenience to its valued passengers. These included offering passengers booked to travel from Cochin to Colombo and onward destinations, the option of departing from Trivandrum or any other destination in South India served by SriLankan, at no extra charge. In addition, passengers booked to fly from any point in the SriLankan Airlines network to Cochin, were able to fly to Trivandrum or any other destination in South India served by SriLankan, at no extra charge. SriLankan also temporarily increased its capacity between Trivandrum and Colombo to cater to the additional requirement.
SriLankan Airlines expresses its sympathy for the victims of this natural disaster and stands in solidarity with the people of the state of Kerala.