Heavy rains hit airport operations, many flights affected

Team Udayavani, Sep 20, 2017, 10:55 AM IST

Mumbai: Flight operations at the Mumbai airport remain affected for the second day today following heavy rains that continue to lash the metropolis. The skidding of a SpiceJet aircraft on the main runway (09/27) last night compounded the problem further as it forced the private airport operator to shift operations to the secondary runway, which can carry out limited operations.

The SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft carrying 183 people overshot a wet runway while landing at the airport in rain-hit Mumbai and got stuck in the mud, officials said yesterday, adding that all passengers were safely evacuated.

As many as 56 flights have been diverted to different airports till this morning as the main runway continues to be out of use due to the SpiceJet aircraft stuck there, an airport official said. Following the downpour, several airlines issued travel advisories to the passengers.

#TravelAdvisory #6EUpdate Weather has improved, however, flights to/from Mumbai are still getting affected due last night weather,” budget carrier IndiGo said in a tweet. Partial operation is being carried out from the secondary runway (14/32 ) but due to the tailwinds, flight departures and arrivals are quite slow.

“Current visibility is 1600 mts with winds of 12 knots. RWY 14 is being used for arrivals while RWY 32 is being used for departures. The disabled aircraft recovery kit from Air India is at site and preparation of pavement underneath the aircraft is in progress,” a Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said.

The SpiceJet aircraft is still stuck on the runway and efforts are on to tow it away to a bay, the official said. Mumbai airport, the country’s second busiest airport, handles 930 flights per day with an average of 48 movements per hour.