Chennai Airport faces massive flight cancellations and delays after cyclone Michaung

Cyclone Michaung’s torrential rainfall caused the airport runways to flood severely, forcing the cancellation of over a thousand flights that connected Chennai. One of India’s top airlines, IndiGo, announced that 550 flights nationwide had been canceled following the airport’s brief shutdown of operations. Additionally, 16 and 10 flights from Chennai were halted by Air India and Vistara, respectively.

Even after the rain has stopped, Chennai is still dealing with the fallout, finding it difficult to remove floodwaters and evaluate the damage done by the heavy downpour.

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Due to flooding, Chennai airport was forced to close its runways on Monday, grounding all aircraft as floodwaters entered into the premises. Since the storm is currently headed towards Andhra Pradesh, the airport in Visakhapatnam is closed.

Although it had to cancel an extra 60 flights today, IndiGo reported that it resumed flight operations from Chennai at noon. Additionally, Vistara started flying again to and from Chennai. IndiGo is waiving cancellation and rescheduling fees for impacted passengers, and Air India is not charging for rescheduling flights that were impacted on either yesterday or today.

The scenario developed when Cyclone Michaung dumped a lot of rain on Chennai starting on Sunday night, causing extensive flooding throughout the city. In addition, a number of trains were canceled, guaranteeing passengers a complete reimbursement.

Even though the rain has ceased, there is still water and debris on the runways and taxiways, which are being removed by additional labor and Civilian Firearms Teams. All CNS and ATM facilities are operating normally, according to the Chennai team, and operations should soon resume. Airlines and other relevant parties have been notified of the restart and are encouraged to adjust their flight schedules accordingly.

Prioritizing departures will help Air Traffic Management clear the backlog of stranded travelers. There are about 1500 people in the terminals and 21 aircraft on the ground right now. Notwithstanding the obstacles, attempts are being made to guarantee sufficient food supply at every location.