Incessant rainfall affects flight schedules adversely

Ever since the onset of monsoon in Mumbai, flight operations from the city airport have been badly affected. An official informed that every day, flights, especially in the morning, were getting delayed by a good 15 to 20 minutes owing to inclement weather and poor visibility. As a result, the concerned airlines were keeping their passengers updated about delays and addressing their grievances on social media. A top air traffic control official from Mumbai airport revealed that every day, nearly five flights faced go around at the city airport due to congestion and bad weather however no diverts had been reported thus far.

The official explained that pilots needed a visibility of almost one kilometre for safe operations and due to the downpour they failed to see the runway and took the aircraft back to the bay which led to delays. “When flights keep on getting delayed during certain times, the whole schedule goes for a tailspin. The shower spells cause delays,” he said. With the rain showing no sign of abating, city airlines were warning fliers about delays and asking them to enquire about flight status before leaving for the airport.

An official from Mumbai International Airport told The Asian Age that every day, flights were getting delayed in the morning and evening. On Saturday, a clutch of flights were delayed by half-an-hour to 45 minutes while on Sunday and Monday, there were 15 to 20 minute delays. On Tuesday morning, flights were delayed by 15 minutes and later as clouds gathered once again, airlines informed passengers that 7 pm flights would be delayed and the delay could continue till 11 pm. The delays were badly affecting business class travellers.