Four flights abort landing at last minute

Passengers flying in and out of the Mumbai airport faced long delays mid-air and on the ground as the daylong downpour slowed air traffic on Friday.

Passengers flying in and out of the Mumbai airport faced long delays mid-air and on the ground as the daylong downpour slowed air traffic on Friday.

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According to the officials, around 12 flights were circling above the airport during morning as high winds and heavy rain prevented their landing.

Four flights - a Jet Airways flight from Bhuj, an Emirates flight from Dubai, and two Indigo flights from Delhi and Bangalore - aborted landing at the last minute. Although the runway visibility was within the permissible limits for safe landing, the flights' crew decided to wait for the winds to subdue.

"The reason for the go-around was unavailable," said a senior air traffic control official.

Passengers travelling to Diu and Porbandar were stranded in Mumbai as Jet Airways cancelled its only flight to the destination. SpiceJet passengers to Delhi and Ahmedabad were also stuck as the carrier cancelled a flight each to these destinations.

Also, flash strike by the transport company, which ferries Jet Airways crew, delayed the airline's operations, said sources.