Chennai rain: Limited commercial flights from Arakkonam naval base to begin tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Limited commercial flight operations are likely to start from the Rajali naval air station in Arakkonam, near Chennai, on Friday, the Civil Aviation Ministry has said. These flights will be operated by Air India and a few private airlines.
A senior official in the aviation ministry said efforts are on to operate at least six flights on Friday and Saturday from Rajali, located around 60 kilometres away from Chennai.Besides Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have also indicated they would operate flights.
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Minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma said the flights from the Rajali naval base would offer tickets at low prices. "(For these flights) the airlines will charge Rs 1,000 for destinations in the South and Rs 2,000 for destinations in the North," Sharma said.
He added that passengers booking tickets for these flights would be allowed to carry only their hand baggage and not any check-in baggage. Shuttle train services are available from Chennai airport every 15 minutes, which can be used by people to reach Rajali.
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As many as 100 people are still stranded at Chennai airport, which has been shut till December 6, and their evacuation is expected to be completed by Friday morning, the government said.
The aviation ministry official also said the planes stranded at the Chennai airport are safe. On Wednesday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had said that 34 aircraft of various airlines were grounded at the submerged airport.
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With Chennai airport inundated following heavy rains, Navy's base at Arakkonam is serving as the makeshift airport for supplying relief material as well as for bringing in National Disaster Response Force teams.