Flights Delayed In Mumbai Due To Heavy Rain, 3 Diverted

Flight services at Mumbai airport have been delayed this morning due to heavy rain and poor visibility. Departures were halted briefly and flights scheduled to land were asked to go into holding patterns while conditions cleared. Flight operations resumed at around 9.30 am but the airport's public relations office has confirmed "a delay due to weather". Three flights had to be diverted to other airports.

"Due to heavy rains, the visibility is changing every minute. Since 9:15 am, the visibility at the airport is fluctuating. There is a delay due to weather. No cancellation as of now but 3 diversions took place till now," the PRO tweeted.

The PRO had earlier tweeted: "Mumbai Airport (MIAL) Spokesperson: Due to heavy rains, there are no movements at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai."

#UPDATE MIAL PRO: Due to heavy rains, the visibility is changing every minute. Since 9:15 am, the visibility at the airport is fluctuating. There is a delay due to weather. No cancellation as of now but 3 diversions took place till now. https://t.co/FdKmO4vYdV

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2019

In addition, airlines have also issued advisories warning passengers of further delays should the weather worsen. Air Vistara and SpiceJet tweeted asking all passengers to check their respective flight statuses for updates.

#TravelUpdate : Due to heavy rains in Mumbai, flights to/from Mumbai may be impacted throughout the day. Please visit https://t.co/9eL33N630U or SMS UK <flight no> to 9289228888 for updated flight status. Thank you.

— Vistara (@airvistara) July 8, 2019

#WeatherUpdate Due to bad weather at Mumbai (BOM), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. The passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via https://t.co/DaY8nCBre4

— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) July 8, 2019

Suburban rail services are running normally so far. Central Railway tweeted that all four of its lines were running without disruption.

Heavy rains at various locations on Mumbai suburban. Central Railway locals are running normal on main line, harbour line, transharbour line and 4th corridor (Kharkopar-Nerul/Belapur). No disruption anywhere.
Update at 1000 hrs @drmmumbaicr

— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) July 8, 2019

Western Railway posted a similar message, "#WRUpdates, 8.30 hrs, 08.07.19. Heavy rains at various locations on Mumbai suburban. WR locals are running normal. No disruption or water logging anywhere. @drmbct @RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyalOffc."

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at places in Mumbai and districts of Raigad, Thane, Palghar and Mumbai on July 9,and 10.

Record monsoon rain last week brought large parts of Maharashtra and Mumbai to a standstill

Last week Mumbai received a record volume of rain, measured over a 24-hour period, since the 2005 floods. The city has received more than 1,800 millimetres of rain since June 1.

Also last week the main runway at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was shut for over 90 hours after a Jaipur-Mumbai SpiceJet plane carrying 167 passengers overshot while landing amid heavy rain.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, remained stuck at the edge of the runway and caused over 250 flights to either be cancelled or diverted. It was finally pulled clear on July 4.

Record monsoon rain has brought large parts of Maharashtra and Mumbai to a standstill.

On July 2 more than 20 people were killed after the rains led to the collapse of a wall in Mumbai's Malad East. Three others were killed in a wall collapse incident in Kalyan in Thane district.

Nineteen people were killed after rain led to a breach in the Tiware Dam in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district at around 9.30 pm on July 2.