Flight delays possible in Delhi as airlines issue rain advisories

IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Akasa Air have issued travel advisories warning of possible flight delays as heavy monsoon rain continues affecting Delhi on Saturday, August 8.

IndiGo said adverse weather conditions were impacting flight operations in Delhi, warning of extended wait times and asking passengers to check status before heading to the airport.

SpiceJet said bad weather could affect all departures, arrivals and consequential flights, while Air India pointed to adverse weather and airport congestion as reasons for disruption.

Akasa Air separately cautioned passengers about slow-moving traffic and congestion on roads to the airport due to heavy rainfall and waterlogging.

The advisories follow Delhi’s wettest August day so far on Friday, when Lodhi Road and Safdarjung recorded 60.4mm and 59.2mm of rain respectively, prompting a red alert for parts of the city.

South Delhi’s MB Road near the Air Force Station saw major flooding again on Saturday, with several arterial roads reporting slow traffic due to continued waterlogging.

Humidity levels in Delhi hovered around 98 percent during the height of Friday’s downpour, with temperatures expected to stay below seasonal norms as the wet spell continues into the weekend.

Delhi recorded its wettest August day so far on Friday, with rainfall gauges at Lodhi Road and Safdarjung logging 60.4mm and 59.2mm respectively in the 24 hours ending 8:30am.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued a red alert for Delhi during a three-hour window on Friday morning, before downgrading to orange alerts across most of the city through the rest of the day.

At least nine houses collapsed and 16 trees fell across the capital since Thursday night, with three women requiring rescue after a tree struck their residence.

Yellow alerts remained in effect for Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, with the IMD’s Saturday morning bulletin, issued at 9:15am, forecasting continued rain over Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Photo by Koshy Koshy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0