Heavy rain triggered an IMD red alert in Delhi on Friday, flooding parts of Indira Gandhi International Airport and delaying more than 550 flights.
Palam recorded the city’s highest rainfall at 75.6mm by late afternoon, with Naraina, Janakpuri, Lodhi Road and Safdarjung all logging significant totals as well.
Ten aircraft were diverted during the disruption, five to Jaipur, four to Lucknow, and one each to Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.
Waterlogging paralysed traffic around Terminal 3 and the underpass linking the airport to Vasant Kunj, adding to passenger delays.
IndiGo and Air India both issued advisories urging passengers to check flight status before leaving home and to allow extra travel time.
Palam recorded the highest rainfall in Delhi at 75.6mm by late afternoon, while Naraina registered 54mm, Janakpuri 48.5mm, Lodhi Road 34.6mm and Safdarjung 32.6mm.
Five aircraft were redirected to Jaipur, four to Lucknow, and one each to Ahmedabad and Chandigarh as the airport struggled to handle the volume of traffic during the downpour.
Waterlogging paralysed traffic around Terminal 3 and the underpass linking the airport to Vasant Kunj, compounding the disruption for passengers travelling to and from IGI.
More than 550 flights were delayed at IGI Airport during Friday’s disruption, according to Flightradar24 data cited by The Times of India.
IndiGo and Air India both issued advisories asking passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport and to allow extra time given slow road movement.
The IMD’s red alert signals the most severe warning level, reserved for extremely heavy rainfall expected to cause significant disruption to daily life and infrastructure.
Delhi has faced repeated bouts of airport disruption this monsoon season, with heavy rain periodically triggering diversions and delays at IGI in recent weeks.
IGI Airport is one of the busiest in the country, typically handling well over a thousand flight movements a day, meaning disruptions there tend to cascade across the wider domestic network.
Photo by Ravi Dwivedi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
