Six flights diverted, operations at Delhi airport hit for 3 hours

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the Palam observatory at the airport, recorded ‘heavy’ rainfall spell of 91.8mm in a three-hour period between 11.30pm and 2.30pm, while it added another 0.6mm in the next three hours.

Heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon hit flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for over two hours due to the with a total of seven flights being diverted to nearby airports. While six of these flights were those which were bound for Delhi, but were unable to land due to bad weather, the seventh was a GoFirst flight which had taken off from Delhi for Guwahati but soon suffered a windshield crack and had to be diverted to Jaipur.

Officials at the Delhi airport also reported that more than 75 flights were delayed due to inclement weather. (Sanjeev Verma/HT file photo)

Officials at the Delhi airport also reported that more than 75 flights were delayed due to inclement weather. The officials said that the seven flight diversions took place within one hour between 1.30 and 2.30 pm. Subsequent flight delays continued till around 4.30 pm, owing to a cascading effect of air traffic congestion, they added.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the Palam observatory at the airport, recorded ‘heavy’ rainfall spell of 91.8mm in a three-hour period between 11.30pm and 2.30pm, while it added another 0.6mm in the next three hours.

The rain was accompanied by strong winds of 30-40 km/hr, which made flight landing difficult, airport officials said.

“Pilots face difficulty in landing planes amid strong winds and thunderclouds. As a precautionary measure, some flights are diverted if the weather conditions before landing are extreme,” said an airport official.

Airlines posted updates on their social media handles, asking passengers to check their flight timings as there may be delays due to bad weather. “#WeatherUpdate: Due to bad weather (heavy rain) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status,” tweeted SpiceJet.