Heavy rain disrupts flight operations at Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: Heavy rains and low visibility hit flight operations at Mumbai airport on Wednesday morning.
The disruption began in the early hours after poor visibility led to suspension of runway operations from 2.22am to 3.40 am, said a source.
A total of 27 flights diverted to airports in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, etc due to the runway closure.
The disruption affected flight schedules through the morning with departure flights delayed by over an hour as priority is given to arrival flights.
The weather-led disruption left hundreds of passengers stranded at the Mumbai airport as flights were inordinately delayed.
Passengers with connecting flights from transit hubs were a worried lot. For instance: Larson Fernandes, who was booked to fly on Emirates flight EK501 from Mumbai to Dubai and then from there onwards to Italy was stranded in Mumbai for hours. He reached the airport in the early hours yo board the 4.30 am flight to Dubai, but at 11 am the flight hadn't yet taken off. "I had a 9 am connecting flight to Italy from Dubai. The airline said the flight was delayed due to the rains and now the crew have run out of their duty hours," said Fernandes.