This Article is From Dec 07, 2015

Chennai Airport Resumes 24-Hour Operations: 10 Developments

Chennai Airport Resumes 24-Hour Operations: 10 Developments

Boarding passes are being issued manually at the Chennai airport.

Chennai: Chennai airport re-opened for 24-hour domestic and international flight operations today, five days after it was shut due to excessive water-logging. The city is now slowly returning to normalcy with water receding from most areas, but cleaning up garbage and slush that piled up due to water-logging remains a big challenge.

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

  1. Five flights including one international arrived and departed from the Chennai airport till 11:30 am today, according to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The domestic airlines who operated services to and from Chennai airport during this period were Air India, TruJet and Jet Airways, AAI added.

  2. At the airport this morning, boarding passes were being issued manually as computerized systems were not operational due to power shortage. Airlines also did not have enough staff at baggage checking counters.

  3. Airport director Deepak Shastri had said yesterday that the airport was using an Air Force radar as its own radar and navigation equipment were damaged in the flooding.

  4. The city has received no rain since last night although the Met department had predicted more rain due to a new trough of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. Schools and colleges were ordered to remain closed for the day after the forecast.

  5. The biggest challenge for authorities now is cleaning up the slush and preventing outbreak of diseases in areas that were water-logged for days. Angry residents say local authorities have failed to work swiftly to clear up roads. But officials say this is their top priority. Due to shortage of staff, workers from other districts have been called in to help.

  6. Train services also resumed in Chennai yesterday after a four-day halt. The railways ran 70 special trains carrying 45,000 passengers. 80 per cent trains are expected to be operational from today from both Chennai Central and Egmore terminals.

  7. Buses and autos are back on roads in many places. Several private and public sector banks operated on Sunday. Mobile phone and Internet services were getting restored in a phased manner in several parts of the city.

  8. Power supply has been restored in several areas of Chennai. But as a precautionary measure, it continues to be disconnected in places where water has not receded.

  9. Airdropping of relief and aerial rescue efforts have been called off with the overall situation improving.

  10. Over 15 lakh people have been rescued, evacuated and accommodated in relief centres, the government said today.



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