Heavy rain & thunderstorms affects Delhi air traffic, at least 22 flights diverted as airlines issue warning

Heavy rain and thunderstorms in Delhi on Thursday forced air traffic controllers to divert at least 22 flights till 8.20 pm from the Indira Gandhi International airport to nearby cities, according to reports.

11 out of the 22 flights have reportedly been diverted to Lucknow, eight sent to Jaipur and one each has been asked to land in Dehradun, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh due to the sudden change in weather conditions in the national capital.

Several airlines have posted about the change in schedule and timings of its flights while also warning passengers of the weather conditions.

"#WeatherUpdate (30th Mar'23) : Thunderstorm with rain is likely to affect Delhi (DEL), our departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected," SpiceJet airline wrote.

IndiGo Airlines informed, "#6ETravelAdvisory : Flight departures and arrivals are likely to be impacted due to bad weather in #Delhi. Please do check your flight status at http://bit.ly/2EjJGGT before leaving for the airport."

Isolated hailstorm over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and East Rajasthan on March 30-31; over West Rajasthan on March 30 and over Uttar Pradesh on March 31.

Rainfall predicted in other parts of India

Isolated heavy rainfall over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on March 31 in Northwest India, the Met said.

While in East India, scattered to widespread rainfall/thunderstorm, lightning/gusty winds were very likely in the region from March 31-April 2. Isolated hailstorms are likely over Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal & Sikkim and Odisha on March 31.

In Northeast India, IMD predicted scattered to widespread light/moderate rainfall/thunderstorm, lightning, and gusty winds very likely to continue over Northeast India from March 30-April 3.

Isolated heavy rainfall is expected over Assam and Meghalaya from March 31- April 2; over Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on April 1-2.

Published on: Thursday, March 30, 2023, 09:43 PM IST