CHENNAI: Early morning rain affected the flight services at Chennai airport, affecting both arrivals and departures.

Chennai and its suburbs received heavy rain for about an hour from 2:30 am, which reduced runway visibility. As a result, several international flights, including those from Dubai, London, and Sharjah, were made to circle in the air until conditions improved.

A Qatar Airways flight from Doha, carrying 317 passengers, was diverted to Bangalore as it could not land in Chennai. Departures were also delayed, with 10 flights scheduled for Mauritius, Thailand, Dubai, Qatar, London, Abu Dhabi, Delhi, and Kochi were delayed for a while.

After the rain had reduced, flights resumed operations and began arriving and departing one after another. In total, 14 flights were affected during the early morning due to the bad weather.