Cyclone Tauktae: Mumbai airport to be shut for 3 hours today, Bandra-Worli link closed

Operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will be suspended between 11am and 2pm on Monday, an airport spokesperson said.

Operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport will be closed for three hours on Monday due to Cyclone Tauktae, an airport spokesperson has said.

Planes are seen parked at Mumbai airport (File Photo)

"Due to cyclone alert, operations at Mumbai Airport need to be closed from 1100 hours local time to 1400 hours local time of 17th May, 2021," the spokesperson said.

According to officials aware of developments, a SpiceJet flight on its way to Mumbai from Chennai, which was scheduled to land at 8:15am, had to be diverted to Surat in the neighbouring state of Gujarat.

Maharashtra and Gujarat are among several states and Union territories where an alert has been declared due to the impending cyclone. In Gujarat, Tauktae is expected to make a landfall later in the day on Monday, or in the early morning hours of Tuesday. The threat of the cyclone has also led to the vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Mumbai, Maharashtra’s capital city, to be suspended for a day.

Additionally, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai’s civic body, announced that the key Bandra-Worli sea link will be closed for commuters till further updates.

Cyclone Tauktae, the first cyclone to hit India this year, has intensified into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" (ESCS), the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in an update on Monday morning. Tauktae, IMD said, will have a wind speed of 180-190 kmph, gusting to 210 kmph.