Chennai rains: Airport closed, flights suspended

Air India will allow passengers holding tickets to Chennai to travel to other airports in South India without additional charge.

Incessant rains and consequent flooding in Chennai have brought airport operations to a stand still.

The navigational aids within the airfield have been switched off due to heavy water logging. Even city-based local trains and inter-state train services were affected due to flooded water affecting the rail tracks, said officials.

“The airport as of now is closed for all operations as water has reached the runway and we are not ready to take any chances [on safety]”, airport director Deepak Shastri said.

90 passengers have been sent to Bangalore by buses and 200 passengers have been transferred to the city.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the airport will stay shut until midday on Sunday as more rain is forecast in the area over the next 48 hours.

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Chennai. In view of the prevailing conditions in Chennai and in the interest of safety of its guests, crew and aircraft, Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai until December 6, 2015”, the Airways said in a statement. 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.

“We are hopeful of passenger flights landing there from tomorrow”, Defence Ministry sources said.

In the flood hit northern part of Tamil Nadu, the situation has improved slightly with the scale of rain coming down since yesterday.