Mumbai rains: Runway shut for hour, 50 flights cancelled

Flight services at Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday due to low visibility after heavy rains in the city, leading to runway operations being shut for over an hour and approximately 50 flights being cancelled, sources said.

Of the 50 cancelled flights (both arrivals and departures) till 11 am, 42 were operated by IndiGo and six by Air India, they 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 said.

The government-owned Alliance Air also had to cancel two flights (one departure and one arrival) on Monday, the source added.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the private airport operator, stated that inclement weather led to the temporary suspension of runway operations from 2:22 am to 3:40 am on Monday.

"Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSMI) has deployed airport personnel across the Terminals to support passengers and provide them with necessary assistance," MIAL said.        

MIAL also requested passengers to connect with their respective airlines and check the schedule before arrival at the airport.        

Sources had earlier said that runway operations had to be suspended from 2:22 am to 3:40 am, resulting in the diversion of around 27 flights to nearby airports.

Flights were diverted to cities such as Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Indore, among others, they said.

Mumbai city recorded 101.8 mm of rainfall in nine hours on Monday, nearly seven times more than its suburbs in the same period, while some other parts of Maharashtra also experienced heavy showers, said the weather office.

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, said Sushma Nair, scientist, Indian meteorological department (IMD) Mumbai.

On the contrary, the Santacruz weather station, which measures weather parameters for Mumbai's suburbs, recorded only 14.8 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, she said.

The island city, generally, receives much less rain than the suburbs.