Cochin International Airport in Kerala will be shut for daytime flights for almost four months starting November owing to runway carpeting, an airport official said.

The airport will be shut for flights from 10 am to 5:30 pm starting November 19 till late March, the official added.

"Airlines have been informed. They will be making necessary arrangements," another person aware of the development said.

The international airport is located about 25 km north east of Kochi and is the first airport in India developed under a public-private partnership model and was funded by nearly 10,000 non-resident Indians from 30 nations.

During 2017-18 financial year, the airport handled 32,947 aircraft movements in the international sector and 36,718 in the domestic segment, registering an increase of around 11 percent over the previous year. In the same year, the airport handled over one crore passengers, a growth of 13 percent over the previous year.