International flights begin operations; 'lessons learnt'

Five days after incessant rains and floods forced shutdown of the Chennai airport, international flight operations resumed on Monday.

A total of 35 flights operated at the airport, even as all services were yet to go on full steam. International operations commenced with an Air India Express flight arriving at 10 am, the Airports Authority of India said in a release.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Ganapathy Raju said normalcy had returned. He called on Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to devise a plan for recovery in the aftermath of flooding of the runway, apron and other areas of the airport.

Raju said it was too early to quantify the financial loss and the government's focus was on relief and rehabilitation.

Talking about alleged cartelisation by airlines, the minister said air fares were being monitored by the ministry. Speaking to reporters after meeting the CM, he said "lessons have been learnt" following the deluge that paralysed flight operations, with stranded passengers being evacuated from the nearby Navy base.

For instance, radar, among other costly equipment, had been affected and had it been placed at a higher position than it was, the loss of operation hours could have been minimised, he said.

He inspected the airport and expressed satisfaction about quick restoration of operations, despite damage caused to navigational aids and to the perimeter wall of the airport. He appealed to all airlines to quickly start operations of both domestic and international flights according to their regular schedules.