Reeling from heavy rainfall for the last few days, 11 flights from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) were redirected to Chennai on Monday, May 12. This is the third time in the last two weeks that rain has disrupted airport operations in Terminal 2. Once the rain receded, the flights were sent back to KIA.
Seven of the eleven flights redirected on Monday were domestic– coming from Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Guwahati. The remaining flights were from France, The Netherlands and Thailand. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued heavy rains, thunder and gusty winds over interior parts of Northern Karnataka for 24 hours till May 13.
As many as 17 flights were diverted to Chennai following damages incurred at terminal 2 on May 9, after Bengaluru airport received a massive 72.4 mm of rainfall, while the city recorded 14 mm of rain in just 24 hours. On May 6, eight flights were diverted– seven to Chennai and one to Coimbatore– as they were unable to land at KIA due to heavy rain.