Kochi, Aug 15 (IANS): The Cochin International Airport was on Wednesday closed till Saturday afternoon after water released from the Idukki dam flooded the area.

Airport Director A.C.K. Nair called the development "unprecedented".

"Why we decided to take this step is because since last night dams like Idukki, Mullaperiyar, Idamalayar have opened their shutters. The water released reaches the Periyar river and one of its tributaries flows close to the airport and it is overflowing, sending the waters to our operational area," said Nair.

He pointed out that with more rains predicted in the coming days, it was decided to close down the airport operations.

"Once the water recedes, it will take us 24 hours to clean up the area. Then only flights will resume. If the water level recedes faster than expected, then things might change. As of now we have decided to close down the airport till 2 p.m. of August 18," said Nair.

Cochin airport is one of the three international airports in the state, besides being the busiest. It handled 10 million passengers during the 2017-18 fiscal.