Storms In North India Trigger Cascading Delays; Passengers Stranded On Tarmac For Hours

Mumbai: A severe weather system moving across North India on Friday evening caused significant disruption to the country’s aviation network, with multiple Mumbai-bound flights delayed by over five hours. The disruption left hundreds of passengers confined within aircraft cabins for several hours past midnight as airlines struggled with a massive backlog and shifting weather windows.

Thunderstorms with 50 kmph winds hit Delhi, Punjab, Haryana

​The chaos began late Friday when an intense band of thunderstorms, accompanied by gusty winds and moderate rainfall, lashed the National Capital Region (NCR) and parts of Punjab and Haryana. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that wind speeds reached up to 50 kmph, severely impacting the runway visual range and forcing safety-related spacing between departures at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI).

Air traffic controllers were forced to implement ground holds for several flights destined for Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. ​The most significant frustration for travelers occurred after boarding. Due to the unpredictable nature of the storm cells, several airlines opted to board passengers in anticipation of imminent departure slots that never materialised.

IndiGo, Air India Express passengers sat for 3–5 hours on tarmac

​On at least four Mumbai-bound flights, operated by IndiGo and Air India Express, passengers remained seated inside the aircraft on the Delhi tarmac for durations ranging from three to five hours. IndiGo flight 6E-853, which was scheduled to depart at 8.45pm, boarded passengers at the usual time but then kept them seated for at least five hours while the aircraft remained stationary on the tarmac over midnight.

One of the passengers on the flight told The Free Press Journal, “We were supposed to arrive in Mumbai at around 11pm but reached at around 3am. For more than two hours, the crew did not even serve water to us. After the passengers made a ruckus, they served us snacks. While the situation was not in the airline's control, they could have at least made the passengers feel comfortable with their hospitality.”

Airlines feared losing departure slots if deboarded

​Airlines cited slot constraints and cascading delays as the primary reasons for not deboarding passengers, fearing they would lose their position in the departure queue if the weather cleared suddenly. Multiple airlines, including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet had issued travel advisories on late Friday evening to inform the passengers about possible delays.

​The delays in North India had a direct impact on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai. As aircraft arrived significantly behind schedule, "turnaround" times were hit, causing follow-on delays for early Saturday morning departures from Mumbai to other domestic sectors.

​According to flight tracking data, the average delay for North-to-West corridor flights on Friday night was 280 minutes.

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