Cyclone Nisarga: Mumbai airport operations hit, 31 flights cancelled
Cyclone Nisarga Landfall: The Mumbai international airport will operate only 19 flights on Wednesday while 31 have been cancelled as a precautionary measure in the wake of Cyclone Nisarga. Of these, 11 are departures and eight arrivals will be operated from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The flights will be operated by AirAsia India, Air India, IndiGo, GoAir & SpiceJet.
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued a circular to airlines and pilots reiterating its guidelines on adverse weather operations.
As a precaution, Mumbai airport has decided to cut down its operation following the IMD weather forecast that Cyclone Nisarga is approaching the north coast of Maharashtra with a speed of 11 kilometers per hour.The IMD said that it is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 6 hours.
"The Cyclonic Storm ‘NISARGA’ over Eastcentral Arabian Sea moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 11 kmph during past 06 hours, and lay centred at 2330 hours IST of 02nd June, 2020 over East-central Arabian Sea near latitude 16.8°N and longitude 71.5°E, about 290 km west-northwest of Panjim (Goa), 290 km south-southwest of Mumbai (Maharashtra), 250 km south-southwest of Alibagh (Maharashtra) and 500 km south-southwest of Surat (Gujarat)," the India Meteorological Department said in its latest bulletin.
A Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said, “As of now, there are eight arrivals and 11 departures for June 3. All the necessary safety measures have been put into place.”
IndiGo informed that the airline will only operate three flights from Mumbai on June 3; Mumbai- Chandigarh (6E 495), Mumbai Ranchi (6E 6179), Mumbai Patna (6E 5373).
In a statement, IndiGo said, “All passengers of the affected domestic flights are being notified. At IndiGo, we are customer centric and have empowered our customers by offering plan B, sent to each individual, an option of re-booking on an alternate flight starting next day or to protect PNR as credit account.”
Meanwhile, Airport operator MIAL on Tuesday had said it has taken various measures to safeguard passengers and the aircraft at the aerodrome in the wake of cyclone Nisarga, which is expected to make landfall close to the city on Wednesday.
Ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Nisarga' in Alibaug in Maharashtra's Raigad district, Mumbai and its metropolitan areas received rainfall since Monday evening, which intensified later in the night.
In awake Cyclone Nisarga, Section 144 has been imposed in Mumbai and adjacent areas from midnight to Thursday afternoon and banned people from coming to places like beaches, parks and promenades along the coastline.
Also, 20 teams of NDRF have been deployed in Maharashtra - Mumbai 8 teams, Raigad 5 teams, Palghar 2 teams, Thane 2 teams (1 enroute), Ratnagiri 2 teams and Sindhudurg 1 team.
