Chennai airport resumes flight ops a day after Cyclone Michaung disruption

The Chennai airport resumed flight operations on Tuesday following a temporary shutdown due to torrential rainfall and heavy winds caused by Cyclone Michaung.

In a statement, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said arrivals and departures at the airport resumed from 9:00 am on Tuesday as rain stopped and water receded.

“No water stagnation on RWYs (runways) and TWYs (taxiways). However, a lot of slush/filth is found. 4 CFTs (crash fire tenders) are deployed for clearing the same, and manpower is also engaged in cleaning work,” it added.

AAI said nearly 1,500 passengers were stranded at the terminals when operations resumed. There were 21 aircraft on the ground.

A Vistara flight (UK821) from Mumbai was the first to land at 11:19 am. The first flight to take off was an IndiGo (6E 6005) flight to Chandigarh at 11.46 am.

Meanwhile, flight tracking website flightradar24.com data showed approximately 80 departures and arrivals were cancelled at the Chennai airport on Tuesday. Similarly, on Monday, around 90 departures and arrivals each were cancelled as heavy rains and strong winds lashed the city and nearby regions.

Domestic carriers recorded a lower on-time performance (OTP) on Monday after the disruptions in Chennai. SpiceJet recorded the lowest OTP of 59.7 per cent among all domestic carriers on Monday, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Similarly, IndiGo and Air India registered an OTP of 63.7 per cent and 65.1 per cent, respectively. AirAsia India logged 68 per cent. Vistara and Akasa Air registered an OTP of 80 per cent and 81.8 per cent, respectively.