Flight services hit in Chennai

Said Gaurav Shah, who had planned a family trip to the Andamans, “All flights are via Chennai, so we cancelled the tickets”.

As torrential rains hit Chennai since yesterday, all flights to and from Chennai airport have been cancelled, said Deepak Shastri, director of the airport, adding that the floodwaters have reached the level of undercarriage of aircraft. All airlines, including Air India, have cancelled their operations from Chennai airport. In official statements released by IndiGo and SpiceJet, they confirmed that their operations from the Chennai airport would remain suspended until weather conditions im proved. Emirates diverted three of its Chennaibound flights to RGIA even as six flights operated by Air Costa, SpiceJet and IndiGo between Vizag and Chennai were cancelled. Chennai Airport authorities had initially shut operations till Wednesday morning but due to incessant rains it has now chose to extend it till 6 AM till Thursday, Dec 3.

However, Jet Airways announced that all their flights would be cancelled till today as well.

While the airport management did not give the number of stranded passengers, the situation has been compounded by serious flooding restricting access roads to the facility.

The situation at the airport would be reviewed again Thursday before giving the go ahead for resumption of flight operations, Mr Srivastava said.

Proactive measures have been taken to inform the passengers about the cancellations and rescheduling of flights through phone calls, SMS etc. Refunds and alternative options have also been offered where ever possible. 34 numbers of aircrafts are stranded at the airport. The team rescued almost 15 people stranted in the area.

National CarrierAir India, carried out a test landing at the Arakkonam Naval Base off the Chennai airport, which is shut due to massive floods.

The heavy rains are because of a trough of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal, closer to Sri Lanka.