Mumbai airport runway operations disrupted by heavy rains, 51 flights cancelled, 27 diverted

Heavy rains in Mumbai have disrupted road and rail traffic as well as air traffic. Operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport have been disrupted by heavy rains, leading to the diversion of several flights and the cancellation of over 50 others.

According to the latest information from Mumbai airport authorities, heavy rains and low visibility led to suspension of operations on the runway from 2:22 am to 3:40 am on Monday. At least 27 flights were diverted due to the suspension.

Meanwhile, 51 flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled till 11 am on Monday, CSMIA told CNBC-TV18. A total of 42 IndiGo flights were cancelled, including 22 arrivals and 20 departures, 6 Air India flights (3 arrivals and 3 departures) were cancelled, 2 Air India Express flights were cancelled and 1 Qatar Airways departure was cancelled on Sunday evening due to FDTL issue.

Flights that were scheduled to land in Mumbai have been diverted to other cities like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Indore. Airport authorities said priority was being given to arrivals and significant changes were being made to accommodate the diverted flights, delaying departures.

Travel advice

CSMIA has also asked passengers to check their flight status in advance. “In view of the adverse weather conditions and heavy to very heavy rain forecast, Mumbai Airport advises all passengers to check their flight status with their respective airlines and leave for the airport a little earlier,” CSMIA posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Travel advisories have also been issued by airlines including IndiGo and SpiceJet as flights scheduled to land in Mumbai have been diverted.

Passengers’ misfortunes

Passengers have taken to social media to share the problems they are facing due to the disruption in operations at Mumbai airport.

“I picked a good night to take a 11:30 pm flight from Bangalore to Mumbai. In crazy thunderstorms, the pilot couldn’t land at the Mumbai terminal, so we were taken to Ahmedabad. On reaching there, I found that the Ahmedabad airport was packed, so we were taken to Indore, where we finally landed. I thought the chalo god wanted me to have poha for breakfast. But no luck, we stayed inside, while the refueling took place and waited for the Mumbai weather to improve. We took off at 5 am and finally landed in Mumbai at 6 am and got off the plane at 7 am. Felt like a Shawshank Redemption moment, to be honest (sic),” stand-up comedian Abhijit Ganguly posted on X.

An X user asked people to leave early for the airport due to waterlogging at Powai L&T junction.

Mumbai has been witnessing heavy rains since Sunday. All schools and colleges have been closed due to flooding of railway tracks. Local train traffic has also been disrupted due to flooding of railway tracks.