Chennai: Chennai airport, which was closed from 7 pm last night, resumed operations this morning after Cyclone Nivar made landfall.
The decision to close airport followed cancellation of 26 flights that were either scheduled to depart for several destinations or arrive at the airport here.
The decision to close down the airport for 12 hours was taken after Airports Authority of India held dicussions via video-conferencing with the civil aviation officials in New Delhi.
All domestic, international and cargo services remained closed during this period. As there was a possibility of airport runway getting flooded following release of surplus waters from the Chembarambakkam lake and flood warning issued to 20 villages, the airport was closed as a precautionary measure.
It may be recalled that the runway was flooded during the December 2015 floods and since there was a possibility of it happening now, the airport was closed, sources said. Earlier, 26 flights were cancelled due to the cyclone.
The cancelled flights include those to Kannur, Kozhikode, Vijayawada, Tiruchi, Thoothukudi, Bengaluru, Mangalore
and Hubli.