As a consequence of 2018 Kerala floods, the airport was closed 1429 August 2018. Water in the Periyar, which flows away from the airport, rose to during these days. The runway and other facilities were non-functional due to excessive flooding and inclement weather. Flights to Kochi were diverted to and were operating from other airports in the state like Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. From 20 August 2018, INS Garuda (a naval airbase in Kochi) was used as a civilian airport for small aircraft operations to neighbouring cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Coimbatore. The airport reopened on 29 August 2018, 14:00 Indian Standard Time (). It suffered an estimated loss of during the closed period.