Cyclone effect: Mumbai airport shut for 11 hours, sees 56 cancellations

Cyclone Tauktae forced Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to stop flight operations for 11 hours on Monday

Cyclone Tauktae forced Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to stop flight operations for 11 hours on Monday. The city airport, which operated flights in the morning, saw seven flight diversions due to gusty winds. Airport sources said, it was the first time the airport remained completely closed for 11 hours due to bad weather.

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CSMIA spokesperson said, “With the announcement of the cyclone alert, CSMIA had closed all flight operations with effect from 11am to 10pm on May 17, 2021. The airport has so far witnessed seven diversions. In the wake of the alert, a few airlines have decided to cancel services to Mumbai. CSMIA has registered cancellations of 34 arrivals and 22 departures.”

As status of flights kept changing, CSMIA advised passengers to connect with the airlines before leaving their homes.

Among the diversions, a SpiceJet flight was diverted to Surat, one IndiGo flight returned to its origin airport at Lucknow and an IndiGo flight was diverted to Hyderabad, airport officials said.

According to airport sources, 38 flights were operated to/from CSMIA before it shut operations.

A pilot, who took off from CSMIA on Monday, said, “The weather was not conducive for flight operations even in the morning. However, flights were taking off around scheduled time due to lesser air traffic.”

A senior AAI official said, “Gusty winds are dangerous for aircraft arrivals. Hence it is better to pause flight operations till weather gets better.”