Chennai, Nov 30: Chennai airport on Friday announced the suspension of operations till 4 am Sunday following the inundation of runways after heavy rains and the ‘adverse weather condition’ due to cyclone ‘Fengal’. Over 50 flights have been cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports in Chennai and neighbouring states.
Official sources here said apart from the cancellation of 55 flights, 19 others were diverted after two runways and the taxiway were inundated following heavy rains. The services include both domestic and international flights. Earlier in the day, when the airport was operational, at least 12 flights were delayed.
The Chennai airport in a post on ‘X’ said that a team of senior officials was closely monitoring the situation to facilitate the earliest resumption of operations as meteorological conditions improve.
“A WebEx meeting was conducted on 30th November 2024 at 1630 hrs, involving all stakeholders and officials from the IMD… Following consultations with AAI Headquarters and considering feedback from stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the closure of operations through a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) until 0400 IST on 1st December 2024. We recommend passengers check with their respective airlines regarding their flights,” it said in a post on ‘X.
The complete disruption of services left the passengers stranded and according to rough estimates from official sources, over 10,000 people could have been affected due to cancellations and diversions.
Nearly 1,000 passengers continued to stay back inside the airport premises to take the first available flight from here to their respective destinations.
As many as 20 flights were cancelled in Hyderabad as well which were services to and from Chennai and Tirupati.
Initially, expecting an earlier landfall of the cyclone, airport authorities had declared suspension of operations till 7 pm starting from 12.30 pm.
Chennai airport authority also said IndiGo Airlines temporarily suspended flight operations, which will resume once the weather improves. (PTI)
