Cyclone Fengal leaves air passengers stranded as flights divert to Bengaluru, travelers frustrated

The delays and cancellations of flights in Bengaluru and Chennai led to confusion among passengers, who took to social media to express their frustration.

Flight diversions to Bengaluru airport from Chennai due to Cyclone Fengal left many passengers stranded, as operations halted at the Chennai airport. The delays and cancellations of flights led to confusion among passengers, who took to social media to express their frustration.

16 flights, including five international ones, were rerouted to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru from Chennai.

A user said, “I was supposed to land in Bengaluru at 4:35. I'm yet to get on the plane. #CycloneFengal is to blame, but a friend took the same flight as this last week and had a similar delay.”

 

A second user said, “My family traveling from Europe has landed in Bangalore today as Chennai flights were diverted. This is due to the Cyclone, and we hope safety measures were appropriately taken in Chennai to close the airport.”

 

A few users also tagged airlines and asked for updates on their flight status as some of the flights were cancelled. Speaking to ANI, a passenger said, “"I came to Chennai airport yesterday at 6 pm. My flight has been cancelled due to cyclone Fengal. The flight which we booked has not been responded to yet.”

Many passengers have been staying at the Chennai airport for hours. “My co-passengers have been at the airport for 12 hours. The airline company has to arrange some other flight for us or else they should refund the money, but they have not responded till now. The flights are said to be diverted to Bengaluru,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chennai Airport authorities have announced that operations will resume at 1 a.m. on Sunday. Earlier, they decided to cancel all arrivals and departures until 4 a.m. on Sunday but began operations after considering weather conditions

As the Chennai airport suspended operations for 16 hours due to strong winds and heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Fengal, 16 flights, including five international ones, were rerouted to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.