CHENNAI: The strong winds and heavy rains brought in by Cyclone Fengal affected flight services at the Chennai airport on November 30. However, though there are delays, there have been no cancellations so far.
Ten domestic and international flights from Chennai to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Kochin, and Dubai, Singapore, and Port Blair were delayed.
The Air India Express flight to Singapore, which was scheduled to depart at 2.50 am, was cancelled due to shortage of passengers.
The flights scheduled to land in Chennai were permitted on the runway only after thoroughly checking the strip to ensure that there is no waterlogging and it is safe to land. This forced the aircrafts to circle the air for a while.
The cyclone warning prompted several people to cancel their travel plans, and the passenger footfall at the airport was lesser than usual. Airport officials said there have not been any flight cancellations due to the cyclone so far.
The AAI is in touch with the meteorological department and is closely monitoring the situation. If the wind speed increases by noon, the flight services may get cancelled, officials said.