Rains disrupt flight operations for five hours at Chennai Airport

The arrival of flights into the Chennai Airport was suspended for nearly five hours on Thursday due to severe rains and “heavy crosswinds” affecting both the domestic and international flight operations. As the city experienced heavy rains, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) announced that the arrival of flights into the Chennai Airport will be suspended from 1.15 pm to 6 pm.

In all, 14 and 22 incoming domestic flights were diverted and cancelled respectively on Thursday. Additionally, 28 departure domestic flights were also cancelled. On the international side, four arrival flights and four departure flights were cancelled.

As the rains receded in most of the city by evening, the AAI resumed operations at 6 pm by welcoming an Indigo flight from Delhi at 6.20 pm. “The flight operations resumed at 6 pm and we hope to continue the operations without any interruption,” a senior official of the airport said.

Also read: Heavy rains in Tamil Nadu lead to floods in subways, hospitals

The AAI said the decision to suspend operations on Thursday afternoon was taken due to severe rains and heavy crosswinds. “The decision was taken considering the safety aspect of passengers and severity of wind,” the official said.

Flight operations were affected at the airport in November 2020 when heavy rains lashed the city and its suburbs under the influence of Cyclone Nivar. In 2015, the Chennai Airport was shut for nearly five days as the premises were flooded with rainwater.

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