Flight operations disrupted due to heavy rains; SpiceJet issues advisory, Vistara diverts flights, BA

As heavy rains lashed the financial capital of India, flight operations at Mumbai airport were disrupted with seven forced to go-arounds and two flight diversions reported till 8 pm. Officials said two flights were diverted and seven flights had to make a go-around at Mumbai airport due to inclement weather. Traffic on roads also crawled while local trains ran behind schedule.

Due to the worsening weather conditions, Spicejet issued an advisory for the passengers looking to depart or arrive at the Mumbai airport.

“Due to bad weather (heavy rain) 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 http://bit.ly/2tG9xBx,” said Spicejet in the advisory. On the other hand, Vistara announced that two flights scheduled to arrive in Mumbai had to be rerouted to Hyderabad due to worsening weather conditions.

“Flight UK 941 from Delhi to Mumbai (DEL-BOM) has been diverted to Hyderabad (HYD) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Hyderabad (HYD) at 2110 hours. Please stay tuned for further updates,” said Vistara. “Flight UK 534 from Hyderabad to Mumbai (HYD-BOM) is returning back to Hyderabad (HYD) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Hyderabad (HYD) at 2115 hours. Please stay tuned for further updates.”
After a long hiatus, heavy rains returned to lash Mumbai and surrounding areas on Wednesday, prompting the Met department to issue a red alert for the city and its neighbouring districts, predicting “extremely heavy rainfall”. A civic official said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded its orange alert for Mumbai to a red alert valid till 8.30 am on Thursday.Several suburbs of Mumbai have been receiving significant rain from Wednesday afternoon, with Mulund and its surroundings experiencing the heaviest rainfall, inundating low-lying areas. Heavy showers have been lashing the island city from the evening, slowing down road traffic due to water-logging and poor visibility. Local train services were also delayed due to rains, said officials.

In its latest warning, issued at 5.30 pm, IMD predicted “extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places” in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts.