Operations disrupted at Delhi airport, 20 flights diverted, over 100 delayed

Officials said a majority of the diversions took place between 6:30 and 9 am before normal operations resumed.

Updated on: May 24, 2022, 02:47:50 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi: At least 20 flights were diverted and around 100 delayed between 6 am and 10 am as wind speeds touching as high as 75 km per hour disrupted operations at the Delhi airport.

The flight disruptions began around 6 am and the normalcy was resumed from around 9 am. (HT PHOTO)

Officials said a majority of the diversions took place between 6:30 and 9 am before normal operations resumed. Thirteen flights were diverted to Jaipur, two each to Lucknow and Amritsar, and one each to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Indore.

“This was largely on account of bad weather, with rain and strong winds...Strong winds can make it difficult to land aircraft, particularly during a thunderstorm spell,” said an official, who did not want to be named.

Also read: After heavy rain hits Delhi-NCR, Gurugram urges for WFH 'wherever possible'

The Palam weather station reported wind speeds of 50 to 75 km per hour around 7 am. “A top speed of 75 km per hour was reported at 6:56 am at the Delhi airport. Such strong winds or wind shear make landing difficult,” said an India Meteorological Department official. The airport also reported 27.6 mm of rainfall till 8:30 am.

The flight disruptions began around 6 am and the normalcy was resumed from around 9 am. Officials said there was a cascading effect in terms of delays. The airport was packed as a result with the boarding process slowing down considerably between 7 and 9 am.

Yusuf Khan, a Mumbai-bound passenger, said their flight was delayed by over an hour. He said the passengers boarded the aircraft at 9:50 am, but it took off around 11 am.

Also read: Thunderstorm in Delhi-NCR, big mercury drop; air, road traffic disrupted: 10 pts

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s flight was among those delayed. “Hello @IndiGo6E 5328 We were supposed to fly at 9.35 am. It has been 40 minutes now. Sitting inside the aircraft. No update. @DelhiAirport @AAI_Official,” he tweeted.

The flight was scheduled to take off at 9:35 am but eventually did so at 10:59 am.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More