Chennai airport to be shut till Dec 8: Air India

“The closure of the Chennai Airport has been further extended till 1100 hours of December 8, 2015,” Air India said mentioning it in a statement about its flights to Hyderabad and Port Blair from Chennai. In the wake of heavy rains and flooding of the runway and nearby operational areas, AAI had closed the airport for normal operations on December 2 till December 6. When contacted, an AAI spokesperson said the situation at the airport was being constantly monitored and a decision on extending the closure period has not been taken yet.

Limited operations of ferry flights from the airport began on Saturday and Air India operated as many as four such flights. Air India said special operations to Hyderabad and Port Blair were carried out on Friday and on Saturday. “Four aircraft that were held up at Chennai airport have left. Two aircraft have gone to Mumbai, one each to Hyderabad Port Blair,” Air India said. Air India also claimed that it has kept fares at the lowest level besides waving off cancellations and refund charges for all passengers travelling to or from any station and Chennai till December 15. “The airlines have not increased any fares during this period,” it added.

Meanwhile, more than 28,000 people have been moved to safer locations from rain and flood-affected areas of Chennai and adjoining areas and tonnes of relief material have been dispatched to Tamil Nadu, the Centre said on Saturday. 27 trucks loaded with ready-to-eat meals, four lakh bottles of drinking water and other essential food items have also been sent to the state. A meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) was held here under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to review the flood situation in the state and take stock of the relief measures being done by multiple agencies like NDRF and Army.

Prime Minister Modi on Saturday announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each from the PM’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the floods. A PMO release said that ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 has also been sanctioned for those who were seriously injured in the floods.