Delhi’s IGI Airport was flooded on Friday after an IMD red alert brought heavy rain to the capital, delaying over 550 flights.
Palam recorded the highest rainfall in the city at 75.6mm, with Naraina, Janakpuri, Lodhi Road and Safdarjung also logging heavy totals.
Ten flights were diverted amid the disruption, five to Jaipur, four to Lucknow, and one each to Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.
Waterlogging around Terminal 3 and the Vasant Kunj underpass disrupted road access to the airport through the day.
IndiGo and Air India both issued advisories asking passengers to check flight status before leaving and to allow for slower travel.
Passengers travelling to and from Delhi in the coming days have been advised to monitor airline communications closely given the ongoing unsettled weather pattern.
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.
Photo by Ravi Dwivedi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
