Chennai: Rain and strong winds caused significant disruptions at Chennai airport on Saturday, affecting a total of 15 flight operations. Aircraft arriving from Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka, and various domestic destinations were forced to hover in the sky for nearly an hour before finally landing.
Delays and Diversions
An Indigo flight from Jaffna, originally scheduled to land at 12:44 PM, circled the airport for almost an hour before touching down at 1:40 PM. This delay also impacted its subsequent leg to Trichy, which was pushed back by 40 minutes. Airport sources attributed the disruptions to a combination of adverse weather and the closure of the main runway for maintenance. As departures were being handled from the secondary runway, incoming aircraft had to wait for clearance to land.
Overshoot and Extended Holds
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, expected to arrive at 1:30 PM, was delayed by an hour after the aircraft overshot the runway during its initial approach and was forced to abort the landing. The flight eventually landed at 2:27 PM after making multiple rounds in the sky. Similarly, flights from Abu Dhabi, Andaman, Mumbai, and Bengaluru had to make slight detours due to the congestion and weather conditions.
Impact on Departures
Departures were also affected, with flights to Kannur, Salem, Tuticorin, Ahmedabad, and Delhi experiencing delays. The combination of rain and reduced runway capacity led to a cascading effect on the airport's schedule throughout the day.
Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for updated flight timings. The airport authorities worked to minimize further disruptions as weather conditions gradually improved later in the evening.
