Mumbai weather: Flight operations hit; SpiceJet, Indigo issue advisory — details

Flight operations were affected at the Mumbai international airport on Monday in the wake of heavy rainfall and dust storms in the financial capital. Several airlines, including SpiceJet and Indigo, issued advisories for their passengers. Vistara shared information about four Mumbai-bound flights which were diverted due to the bad weather.

“Due to the inclement weather and dust storms in the city, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) temporarily suspended flight operations for around 66 minutes due to low visibility and gusty winds. Operations resumed at 17:03 hrs. During this time, the airport witnessed 15 diversions,” Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said in a statement.

‘Check your flight status’: Advisory issued

Indigo, a low-cost airline, also warned on X that “potential air traffic congestion is expected” due to the dust storm in Mumbai. The airline asked flyers to “keep a tab on their flight status”.

“The dust storm has returned, this time over Mumbai. Potential air traffic congestion is expected, so keep a tab on your flight status https://bit.ly/3DNYJqj Plan your journey to the airport accordingly and have a safe trip,” Indigo tweeted.

SpiceJet, another low-cost airline, posted on X, “Due to bad weather in Mumbai (BOM), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via https://bit.ly/2tG9xBx.”

List of Mumbai-bound flights diverted

Vistara also took to X to share an update on its flight operations. In a series of posts, the airlines informed about Mumbai-bound flights which were diverted due to bad weather in the region. It said:

1. Flight UK272 from Male to Mumbai (MLE-BOM) has been diverted to Goa (GOX) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Goa at 1720 hours.

2. Flight UK562 from Jaipur to Mumbai (JAI-BOM) has been diverted to Goa (GOX) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Goa at 1720 hours.

3. Flight UK522 Coimbatore to Mumbai (CJB-BOM) has been diverted to Ahmedabad (AMD) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Ahmedabad at 1735 hours.

4. Flight UK620 Dehradun to Mumbai (DED-BOM) has been diverted to Vadodara (BDQ) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and has arrived in Vadodara (BDQ) at 1745 hours.

Mumbai rains: Check IMD’s weather update here

Mumbai, Thane and other adjoining areas received rainfall, accompanied with dust storms, lightning, gusty winds and thunder on Monday afternoon, bringing a major relief from the scorching heat.

In its local forecast for Mumbai city and suburbs for the next 24 hours, the regional meteorological centre said in a post on X in Marathi, “Unsettled cloudy sky with possibility of light rain/thundershower in evening/night. Maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 35°C and 28°C respectively.”

Earlier in the day, Mumbai’s weather department predicted thunderstorms, hail and gusty winds (50-60 kph) and heavy rain in some districts of Maharashtra on Monday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said isolated hailstorm activity is very likely to occur over Madhya Pradesh on May 13 and 14 and in parts of Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada on May 13. “Isolated heavy rainfall very likely over Madhya Maharashtra on 13th May, 2024,” the weather department said.

A press release by the IMD also informed on Monday that “hailstorm activity [was] observed [during past 24 hours till 8:30 an on Monday] at isolated places over Jammu-Kashmir, Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Telangana and Madhya Maharashtra.”

IMD alerts today

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) issued a yellow alert for Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Solapur, Latur, Beed, Nagpur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. These regions are very likely to receive thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and winds at isolated places.

Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued for Pune, Satara, Sangli, Nashik, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna and Parbhani districts.