Rain disrupts flight services in Bengaluru, 17 flights diverted to Chennai

Bengaluru: Heavy rain through the evening on Thursday led to a disruption of services at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, with 17 flights scheduled for arrival diverted to Chennai.

A spokesperson of the airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) told DH on Friday that 13 domestic flights originating from Delhi (two flights), Hyderabad (two flights), Jaipur, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow (two flights), Madurai, Pune (two flights), and Ranchi were diverted. The diverted flights were operated by Indigo, Air India, Air India Express, Vistara, Akasa Air, and Star Air.

“Heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds, between 9:35 pm and 10:29 pm, led to the diversion of flights,” the BIAL spokesperson said.

Three international flights operated by Singapore Airlines (from Singapore), Etihad (Abu Dhabi), and KLM (Amsterdam), and a cargo flight were diverted.

“Our teams promptly responded to the situation to mitigate the impact and restore normal operations,” the spokesperson said.

Leakage in terminal: The rain also caused leakage from the ceiling of the airport’s Terminal 2. Passengers shared videos of the leakage near what they identified as the baggage claim area of the terminal – which commenced operations in November 2022 – on social media.

The BIAL spokesperson confirmed that a heavy downpour “within a short span of time” on Thursday resulted in water leakage in certain areas of the terminals.