Rains disrupt Mumbai airport operations for an hour

Four IndiGo flights were cancelled, and 13 arriving aircraft of various operators were diverted to nearby airports as heavy rains and gusty winds forced Mumbai International Airport authorities to suspend all runway operations for an hour on Sunday, sources said. The 13 flights that were diverted due to bad weather, however, landed back in Mumbai later, they added.

At the same time, 90 per cent of outbound flights were departing with a delay of an average of 65 minutes, and 45 per cent of the incoming flights were arriving late at Mumbai International Airport, according to the latest data from live flight tracking website flightradar24.com, which was impacting passengers severely.

Earlier, Mumbai International Airport, which is jointly owned by Adani Group and Airports Authority of India (AAI), in a statement said, “At approximately 10.17 am, adverse weather conditions, including strong gusty winds of up to 42 knots and reduced visibility due to heavy rain, impacted runway operations.” As per procedure, runway operations were “temporarily suspended” to ensure the safety of passengers, aircraft and ground personnel, the private airport operator said in the statement. Following improvement in weather conditions, normal runway operations resumed after an hour, it added.  The four IndiGo flights that were cancelled are 6E 395 (Delhi-Mumbai), 6E 5273 (Mumbai-Indore), 6E 552 (Indore-Mumbai and 6E 6613 (Mumbai-Delhi), as per sources.

“Bad weather over Delhi and Mumbai has impacted the flight schedule. We are closely monitoring the weather… we request that you stay updated on your flight status,” IndiGo said in a post on X.

IndiGo, however, did not mention the four flights which were cancelled at Mumbai International Airport.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC) sources, the airport handles 980 to 1,000 flights a day, with an average of 48 air traffic movements, 24 arrivals and 24 departures per hour.