Passengers at Mumbai Airport Fume as Runway Closure Leads to Flight Delays, Cancellations

Air India on Monday morning said in a tweet that some flights have been delayed and some cancelled as a result of the temporary closure of a runway at Mumbai airport due to “inclement weather conditions”.

With the intensity of Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ increasing, Mumbai along with other coastal parts of Maharashtra received rain and strong winds on Sunday night.

Cyclone Biparjoy Latest Updates

Strong winds also affected the air quality and visibility due to dust particles. Some trees fell in parts of Mumbai due to gusty winds, news agency PTI quoted a a civic official as saying.

Air India in its tweet on Monday morning said, “Inclement weather conditions and the temporary closure of Runway 09/27 at the Mumbai airport, in addition to other consequential factors beyond our control have resulted in delays and cancellation of some of our flights. We regret the inconvenience caused to our guests, as we make all effort to minimise the disruptions.”

Several passengers took to Twitter and shared details about their flights being delayed by hours. Some even said they have been stuck at the airport for hours and waiting for their flights to depart.

“@airindia AI 576 flight from Mumbai to Chennai gets delayed from 11.05 PM to 11:55 PM and then gets cancelled after providing boarding pass. And incharge Pradeep Mangtani answers leisurely saying we will provide compensation without any alternative. Is this how AIR INDIA works?” a user wrote.

@airindia My sister’s been stuck in airport for 9+ hours waiting for #AI573 to depart from Mumbai to Chennai. Please help. No status.. No staff members are around. Passengers are all stranded without guidance,” a user wrote, to which Air India gave the inclement weather response.

Another user wrote that his flight booking for San Francisco has been “suddenly cancelled”. @airindia: what is happening to the flights out of @flySFO? We are booking parents on these flights and we are not getting clear communication from the airlines. Until couple of hrs ago, todays flight was schedule to fly out at 2.45PM but suddenly it’s cancelled,” the user wrote.

IndiGo Airlines also took to Twitter and expressed regret for the inconvenience caused while replying to a passenger’s tweet complaining about a delayed flight.

Akasa Air also reported flight delays. A passenger took to Twitter on Sunday night and said his flight to Bangalore was delayed twice and the gate was changed “five times”.

“Utter chaos @AkasaAir at Mumbai Airport. Flight to Bangalore is twice delayed and gate changed FIVE times. Making people look jokers and run around the airport with luggage! Beyond ridiculous! Such shame! 8.15 new take off time and boarding yet to begin! Ppl furious now!” the tweet read.

Mumbai was also hit by high tides due to the cyclonic storm, Biparjoy, over Arabian Sea that is likely to make landfall between Kutch district and Pakistan’s Karachi on June 15 but is already showing its effect in western Maharashtra.

Huge waves caught tourists in Ganpatipule town in the coastal Ratnagiri district by surprise. The waves hit the beach with a strong current, scaring the tourists. There was no serious injury reported in the incident.

Early morning visuals on Monday from Gateway of India in Mumbai also showed high tidal waves due to Cylone Biparjoy.

The Gujarat government, meanwhile, has begun deploying NDRF and SDRF teams in coastal areas and will set up shelters in six districts as the extremely severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy is likely to make landfall between Kutch district and Pakistan’s Karachi on June 15.

The exact place where the cyclone will make landfall will become clear in the coming days.

Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Gir Somnath, Porbandar, and Devbhumi Dwarka districts are likely to be impacted by the cyclone with heavy rainfall and very high wind speed during June 13-15 which may go up to 150 kmph, an official said.

As per IMD, the “extremely severe cyclonic storm (ESCS) ‘Biparjoy’ is very likely to cross Saurashtra-Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan around the noon of June 15 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph.

(With PTI inputs)