Flight connectivity to Kochi resumed on Monday as Air India subsidiary Alliance Air operated three flights to the naval airbase, which was okayed for commercial flights last week after the local airport was shut for operations due to flooding on August 15.
IndiGo has also announced three flights connecting the city with Bengaluru and Chennai from Tuesday.
A spokesperson of Jet Airways said that it also plans to start flights to Kochi soon.
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The Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement that, on the request of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, it has approved three helicopter operators, including Pawan Hans, to air drop relief material in the State.
The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport operated 18 re-scheduled flights in the international sector, and another nine in the domestic sector on Monday, much to the relief of fliers.
The Railways commenced services on the Ernakulam-Thrissur-Shoranur section, and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) was able to ply buses on all routes, except to the hill station of Munnar.
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Rush on trains
With Onam and Bakrid round the corner and educational institutions remaining closed for Onam, bus stations and railway stations have become busy. Unprecedented rush is being witnessed on long-distance trains.
With the Railways restoring traffic on the Ernakulam-Thrissur-Shoranur section, trains can run from Kasaragod to Kanniyakumari via Shornur and Palakkad, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Nagercoil junction. The only corridor in the railway network of the State that is out of bounds for trains is Punkunnam-Guruvayur, where restoration work is on in full swing.
In the Palakkad Railway Division, 90% of trains have been restored. The holding-up of rakes belonging to the Thiruvananthapuram Division in Palakkad due to suspension of trains in the Ernakulam-Shoranur section is leading to full restoration of trains, a Railways spokesperson said, adding that this will take days.
Out of 91 Mail and Express trains handled daily at Thiruvananthapuram, 75 were restored on Monday. “Cent per cent trains will be back in two to three days,” Divisional Railway Manager Shirish Kumar Sinha told The Hindu .