Mumbai Airport Resumes Operations After 50 Flights Cancelled Due To Heavy Rains

Runway operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport resumed on Tuesday after a brief pause due to low visibility. Heavy rainfall in Mumbai led to the cancellation of over 50 flights.

Planes sit on the wet tarmac at the airport, in Mumbai, Monday, July 8, 2024. Many flights were cancelled due to rains and bad weather conditions.

Source : PTI

Mumbai Airport News: Heavy rains in Mumbai have led to significant disruptions across road, rail, and air traffic. After a day's pause, runway operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) resumed on Tuesday, according to News 18. The heavy downpour resulted in the diversion of several flights and the cancellation of more than 50 flights on Monday.

Mumbai Rains: Heavy Rains Led To Cancellation Of 50 Flights, Report Says

Flight services at the Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday due to low visibility caused by the incessant rains, leading to a temporary shutdown of runway operations for over an hour and approximately 50 flight cancellations, news agency PTI cited sources as revealing. Of these 50 cancelled flights, 42 were operated by IndiGo and six by Air India, the PTI sources said.

"Fifty flights have been cancelled till 11 am on Monday at the Mumbai airport due to low visibility and heavy rains. Of these, IndiGo had to cancel 42 flights, including 20 departing ones, while six flights of Air India, including three arrivals, were cancelled," a source told PTI. Additionally, Alliance Air, a government-owned airline, also had to cancel two flights (one departure and one arrival) on Monday, it added.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the private airport operator, stated that inclement weather necessitated the temporary suspension of runway operations from 2:22 a.m. to 3:40 a.m. on Monday. "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has deployed personnel across the Terminals to support passengers and provide necessary assistance," MIAL announced. The operator also requested passengers to connect with their respective airlines and check the schedule before arriving at the airport.

In light of the inclement weather and forecast of heavy to very heavy rains, #MumbaiAirport advises all the passengers to check their flight status with their respective airlines and leave for the airport a little earlier. #PassengerAdvisory #GatewayToGoodness #Travel #Safety pic.twitter.com/pIRK52MRFr

— CSMIA (@CSMIA_Official) July 8, 2024

PTI sources stated that the suspension of runway operations led to the diversion of around 27 flights to nearby airports, including Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Indore.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai recorded 101.8 mm of rainfall within nine hours on Monday, nearly seven times more than its suburbs during the same period.

Sushma Nair, a scientist at IMD Mumbai, reported that the Colaba weather station, which records weather parameters for the island city, registered 101.8 mm of rainfall from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, PTI reported. Conversely, the Santacruz weather station, which measures weather parameters for Mumbai's suburbs, recorded only 14.8 mm of rainfall during the same period.

Typically, the island city receives much less rain than the suburbs, but Monday's heavy showers presented an exception, significantly impacting daily operations across the city.