Mumbai Rains: Air India, IndiGo Issue Travel Advisory As Flights Hit Due To Heavy Showers

Mumbai has been witnessing incessant rainfall overnight causing severe waterlogging in several parts of city, thus affecting public transportation including flights and local trains.

The heavy showers disrupted the flight operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), reported Hindustan Times. The poor visibility due to the heavy showers caused a brief suspension of flight operations at 10:36am.

However, the operations resumed at 10:55am after visibility was recorded at 1000 meters, and Runway Visual Range (RVR) at 1200 meters.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai, predicting moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs, with a possibility of very heavy rainfall in isolated areas.

Flights affected, airlines issue advisory:

Air India has issued a notice regarding potential flight delays to and from Mumbai due to heavy rains. They advise travellers to start early for the airport because slow traffic and waterlogging could cause delays.

“#ImportantUpdate: Flights to and from Mumbai may get affected due to heavy rains. Guests are advised to start early for the airport, as slow traffic and waterlogging may delay movement. Please check flight status before heading to the airport,” the airline said in a post on X.

IndiGo also issued similar guidelines on potential flight delays due to heavy spell of showers. It advised the travellers to check status of flights before heading to the airport.

Runway Operations Suspended Twice:

Runway operations at Mumbai airport were halted twice on Thursday due to visibility dropping to 300 meters. Airlines advised passengers to arrive early, anticipating traffic congestion and water-logging in parts of the city.

The first suspension was from 08:32 hrs to 08:43 hrs, lasting 11 minutes, followed by a second suspension from 10:36 hrs to 10:55 hrs, lasting 19 minutes.

“Runway operations were first halted for 11 minutes from 8.32 am to 8.43 am, and then again for 19 minutes from 10.36 am to 10.55 am due to adverse weather and low visibility, which dropped to 300 meters and Runway Visual Range (RVR) at 500 meters with heavy rains,” said an airport source.

11 Flights Cancelled, Ten Diverted:

As many as 11 flights were cancelled, and ten were diverted to nearby airports as heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai.

IndiGo cancelled a total of ten services, including five arrivals, while Air India cancelled one departure from Mumbai.

Initially, ten flights were diverted to airports in Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, Indore, and MOPA in Goa, according to a source, who added that all flights eventually returned to Mumbai.

Local trains affected:

Mumbai’s Central Railway said that the local trains on the Central Line are operating with speeds less than regular because of reduced visibility due to heavy rainfall and wind speeds in the region.

The IMD data revealed that between Wednesday and Thursday morning, the Santacruz recording station received 68 mm of rain while the Colaba observatory recorded 63 mm of rainfall.

4 out of 7 lakes supplying water to Mumbai overflowing:

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) hydraulic engineering department said that four out of seven lakes, supplying water to Mumbai, have started overflowing.

Water level in the lakes catering to Mumbai has been rising due to continuous heavy rainfall in their catchment areas over the past few days.

As per the latest data from the civic body, Modak-Sagar Lake started overflowing at around 10:40 am today.

Seven reservoirs — Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Vihar and Tulsi — supply 385 crore litres of potable water to the metropolis.

With inputs from agencies