Rain and squalls disrupt flight operations at Chennai Airport

CHENNAI: Flight services at Chennai International Airport were disrupted on Sunday after sudden, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and squalls hit the city and its suburban areas from around 3 pm onwards.

The severe weather led to significant disruptions, with multiple flights being diverted, delayed, and forced to hover for extended periods. In a major incident, an IndiGo passenger flight from Sri Lanka with 149 passengers was diverted to Bengaluru.

Approximately ten other flights, including those from Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Goa, Madurai, and Tiruchy, were also left circling in the sky for a long time, unable to land due to the adverse weather conditions. Once the rain subsided slightly, these aircraft were able to land in Chennai one after another, albeit after considerable delays.

The disruption was not limited to arrivals, but departures from Chennai were also severely impacted. Over ten outbound flights to destinations including Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thoothukudi, and Shirdi faced significant delays in their scheduled departures.

The situation caused severe hardship for passengers at the airport, who were frustrated over the lack of timely and clear communication from authorities regarding the sudden delays, as they were left stranded and anxious.