UAE flights to Kochi diverted due to heavy rain

Dubai - Cochin International Airport in Kerala halted flights till 3pm on Sunday.

Angel Tesorero

Published: Fri 9 Aug 2019, 11:43 AM

Last updated: Fri 9 Aug 2019, 10:54 PM

Heavy rains have derailed the plans of expats who planned to fly to Kochi for the long weekend. Cochin International Airport in Kerala halted flights till 3pm on Sunday due to heavy rain, airport officials said.
Dubai-based carrier Emirates airline experienced difficulties following the torrential downpours, which saw water level rising in Periyar river and a canal near the airport.
A spokesperson for Emirates airline said: "Due to the weather conditions at Cochin Airport all flight operations to and from Kochi (COK) will now operate via Trivandrum International Airport (TRV) on 9 August."
Subsequently, the following flights have been affected:
EK532 will depart DXB at 1100hrs and arrive at TRV at 1630hrs
EK530 will depart DXB at 0845hrs and arrive at TRV at 1415hrs
EK533 will depart TRV at 1750hrs and arrive at DXB at 2010hrs
EK531 will depart TRV at 1515hrs and arrive at DXB at 1740hrs

The airline has advised travellers to check www.emirates.com/flightstatus for the latest flight updates as departure times may change depending on the weather conditions.

The spokesperson also said that affected passengers booked to travel to and from Cochin can opt to change their flights and postpone their departure up to August 15, 2019 and are requested to contact their travel agent or booking offices to make changes to their bookings.
Air India Express

All flights from Air India Express from the UAE sectors diverted to Trivandrum and Kozhikode, an official said.
"We have a contingency plan. From today, flights operating as Kochi-Abu Dhabi-Kochi and Kochi-Dubai-Kochi will be diverted to Trivandrum airport. Flights on Kochi-Sharjah-Kochi will be diverted to Kozhikode. Our main concern is first accommodating passengers from yesterday's canceled Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight. We are doing this on priority basis," he added.
flydubai
A flydubai spokesperson told Khaleej Times, "Due to the closure of Cochin airport, flydubai flights on 09 and 10 August are rerouted to Trivandrum airport. We will continue to monitor the situation and make changes to our schedule accordingly."
All the flights to airport were either cancelled or diverted from Thursday, 9pm (IST) onwards.