Home INDIA Mumbai airport’s main runway shut as plane stuck; 54 flights diverted

Mumbai airport’s main runway shut as plane stuck; 54 flights diverted

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Face of Nation : MUMBAI: The main runway at Mumbai airport remains closed today after a SpiceJet flight overshot its mark while landing amid heavy rainfall at around 11.45 pm yesterday. The plane, a Boeing 737-800, is still stuck at the end of the runway. A secondary runway is operational but flights are likely to be delayed.

“Spicejet SG 6237 Jaipur-Mumbai flight overshoots runway while landing at Mumbai Airport. All passengers are safe, no injuries reported,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement.

The SpiceJet incident, coupled with heavy overnight rainfall, forced as many as 54 flights to be diverted to nearby airports like Ahmedabad, Goa and Bengaluru. A further 52 flights were cancelled.

Domestic airlines have posted messages on social media warning people of cancellation and delays. Air Vistara has confirmed the cancellation of ten flights in and out of Mumbai, including flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

SpiceJet and Indigo have also tweeted, warning passengers that the rains in Mumbai could affect departures and arrivals. Both airlines have asked passengers to check for delays and cancellations of flights before leaving for the airport.

A Korean Air flight from Seoul to Mumbai was diverted to Ahmedabad. A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt and an Air India flight from Bangkok also had to be diverted, sources were quoted as saying in a report by news agency PTI.

Mumbai has received 540 millimetres of rain since Sunday night – the highest over a two-day period in the last decade – Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi told NDTV. “…In June, average rainfall was 515 mm. We have got 540 mm in just two days. This is the highest in a decade,” he said.

The city is set for more downpours in the next 24 to 48 hours. The Regional Meteorological Centre has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai city and its suburbs.

Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at “serious risk of flooding” between July 3 and 5, warning that “close to 200 mm or more rain per day is likely during this period”.

The Western Express Highway which leads to the airport was flooded after continuous rainin Mumbai, making it extremely difficult for people running to catch their flights reach the airport on time.

The Maharashtra government has declared a public holiday today in Mumbai as a precautionary measure following the incessant rain.

Meanwhile, rail services have also been affected by the rain. Several suburban and long-distance trains were cancelled after tracks were flooded. Both Central Railway and Western Railway tweeted details of cancelled and rescheduled services.

Sixteen people were killed in two separate cases of wall collapse in Mumbai and Kalyanafter heavy rains hit the metropolis and areas around. Thirteen were killed and four others critically injured after a wall collapsed in Mumbai’s Malad East, officials said. 

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