20 flights delayed from Chennai Airport

As many as three flights were cancelled and 20 rescheduled from Chennai Airport due to poor visibility following smog caused by Bhogi bonfire. While five international flights were delayed taking off from the Chennai Airport, for the domestic sector, the number was 15.

Flight operations at the domestic and international terminals of the Chennai Airport were hit from 3.30 am as thick smog enveloped the sky in and around the metropolis. International flights to Sharjah, Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai were delayed by 40 minutes to six hours.

As the thick smog enveloped the sky even after 9 am, 15 domestic flights to various destinations like Goa, Calicut, Goa, Trichy, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Cochin were delayed. Flight delays have become normal during the Bhogi festival, which involves burning of old articles in a gesture of bidding adieu to the old and welcoming the new.

Bhogi is celebrated a day before Pongal, which is celebrated on the first day of Tamil month Thai.