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Bengaluru: With heavy rains pounding Chennai and leading to a shutdown of operations at its airport, at least 31 flights scheduled to land in Chennai were on Monday diverted to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of the Bengaluru Airport, said departures to Chennai, Tirupati, and Vijayawada are also affected. The rains, set off by cyclonic storm Michaung, led to the closure of the Chennai airport till 11.30 pm on Monday.
“A total of 31 flights have been diverted to the Bengaluru Airport. They include two flights that took off from Bengaluru to Chennai but had to return,” a source in BIAL told DH. The diverted schedules included domestic and international flights. The BIAL official said flights operated by Indigo, Air India, SpiceJet, Etihad, Gulf Air, Flydubai, Lufthansa, and British Airways were diverted to KIA.
He said operations at the airport, barring schedules to Chennai, did not see any “major disruption” on Monday.
Passenger advisory
The airport operator released an advisory, requesting passengers to check with their respective airlines for alerts and updates. “Due to adverse weather conditions in the region and the temporary closure for arrival operations at Chennai airport on December 4, 2023, scheduled departures from BLR Airport to Chennai, Tirupati and Vijayawada are experiencing delays or cancellations,” the advisory said.