Mumbai: Flight operations at the Mumbai airport will remain shut till 7pm on Wednesday as a preventive step due to the ongoing landfall of Cyclone Nisarga, Mumbai International Ltd (MIAL) said.
The decision to suspend operations was taken after a FedEx flight from Bengaluru made a runway excursion as heavy rains lashed the city. However, airport authorities informed that no disruption of flights occurred due to runway excursion.
"Considering the strong crosswinds, it has been decided that no arrivals and departures will take place between 2:30pm and 7pm," MIAL said in a statement.
It said that the decision to temporarily suspend flight services at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) was taken in consultation with the Airport Authority of India (AAI)
AAI holds 26 per cent stake in MIAL joint venture. The majority 74 per cent stake is with a GVK group-led consortium.
The private airport operator had scheduled a total of 19 flights for Wednesday, which included 11 departures and eight arrivals to be operated by five airlines - Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia India.
It had, however, said that the schedule could change as well depending upon the situation.
Cyclone Nisarga blew in from the Arabian Sea, making landfall at the coastal town Alibaug at around 12:30 pm and the process will finish by 4pm.
Mumbai airport was allowed to operate a total 50 flights per day, 25 departures and arrivals each following the resumption of air passenger services on the domestic routes from May 25.
The operations of commercial passenger services were suspended on March due the imposition of a nation-wide lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government later lifted the restrictions on domestic flights from May 25. International operations by the Indian airlines, however, remain suspended.
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