As north India sizzles in extreme heat, rains bring Mumbai to still, 11 flights diverted
Heavy rains brought down visibility below the required limit in Mumbai's Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday, which led to a halt in flight operations for some time.
Days after monsoon reached the Kerala coast, heavy rains brought Mumbai to a standstill on Monday.
Flight operations at the city's Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were put on hold after the visibility came down below the required limit, a Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said. 11 flights were diverted from the Mumbai airport.
Many planes continued to hold over the sea as weather conditions were not conducive to landing.
"Due to heavy rains the visibility has gone down and the operations have been on hold for the last 13 minutes," the spokesperson said in a voice message.
Due to low visibility, a Newark-bound United Airlines flight from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was diverted to Delhi’s IGI airport, the spokesperson said.
"Runway 09x27 (the main runway) will be handed over to the air traffic control any time soon to restart operations," the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, a Thai Airways plane hit the guard light and signage on the tarmac while landing in Mumbai. Debris was found on the runway.
Movement of Mumbai's lifeline, suburban trains, was also affected.
Harbor Line trains for Andheri and Goregaon were running only till Bandra while in up direction Harbor line trains ran only from Bandra to CSMT. Central line trains were also delayed by 15 -20 minutes.
It is the first pre-monsoon showers in the south Mumbai region, said an IMD official.
Eastern parts of the city have already witnessed light showers and drizzle.
Areas like Colaba in south Mumbai, western suburbs of Santacruz, Malad, Kandivali and Borivali along with Kurla, Ghatkopar and Vikroli also received good spells of showers, accompanied by thunder and lightning.