Cyclone Michaung : Over 500 Indigo flights cancelled after shut down of Chennai airport due to heavy rain

Since yesterday (5^th December), more than a thousand flights to and from Chennai have been canceled as a result of Cyclone Michaung’s heavy rains, which closed the Chennai airport. 

Following the airport’s closure yesterday, Vistara halted 10 flights from Chennai, and IndiGo was forced to cancel 550 flights throughout India.

After the rain stopped, Chennai is now having difficulty in draining the floodwaters and estimating the damage from the intense downpour.

Following the entering of floodwater into Chennai airport yesterday, Chennai airport closed its runway and grounded all aircrafts. However, it started operations this morning. The airport in Visakhapatnam is closed at the moment because the cyclone is headed towards Andhra Pradesh.

Flyers who are impacted will receive compensation for flight cancellation and rescheduling, according to a statement made yesterday by IndiGo, which has exceeded the 2,000 daily scheduled flight milestone.

According to Vistara Airlines, it has contacted the impacted flyers and made accommodations.

A Vistara spokesperson said that the team has been in continuous communication with the affected customers to provide updates and different options, like rescheduling or refunds, as appropriate. The team made all efforts to minimize inconvenience to customers, including proactively cancelling select flights.

Air India has cancelled rescheduling fees for flights departing yesterday (5^th December) and today (6^th December). During the closure of Chennai airport, Air India had to cancel 33 flights nationwide. Today, it also canceled twenty flights.

Chennai was completely submerged with rain due to Cyclone Michaung. In addition to flights, numerous trains were canceled, with full refunds promised to the passengers.

The cyclone has begun landfall close to Bapatla on the coast of Andhra Pradesh.