Vijayawada: Flight services were disrupted at several airports in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday as severe cyclonic storm Arnab approached the coast, with multiple flights cancelled and some diverted or forced to return to their airports of origin.
Air India and other airlines also announced cancellations for Wednesday.
At Vijayawada International Airport, IndiGo arrivals from Chennai, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Kurnool, along with an Air India flight from Delhi, were cancelled on Tuesday.
IndiGo departures to Mumbai and Bengaluru were also cancelled.
At Bhogapuram airport in Vizianagaram district, several Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express flights scheduled to arrive from or depart for destinations including Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Tirupati, Kolkata and Kurnool were cancelled.
IndiGo alone cancelled 10 flights scheduled to operate to and from the airport on Tuesday.
IndiGo reportedly cancelled all its flights to and from Bhogapuram on Wednesday.
Rajahmundry airport, which handles around 12 arrivals and departures daily, mainly connecting the city with Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Tirupati, operated normally until 4.30 pm on Tuesday.
However, as wind speeds increased in the evening, airport authorities cancelled three flights arriving from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
At Tirupati airport, an IndiGo flight bound for Bhogapuram was unable to land because of adverse weather conditions and returned to Tirupati.
The airline reportedly refunded the passengers’ fares.
Tirupati airport director D. Bhoomi Nathan said the ATR aircraft, carrying around 40 to 50 passengers, reached Bhogapuram at about 1.30 pm but had to return because it could not land safely.
Meanwhile, several airlines announced flight cancellations for Wednesday as the severe cyclonic storm was expected to cross the coast in the early hours.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) also held a meeting chaired by its chairman, Puneet Kansal, to assess the potential impact of the cyclone on civil aviation operations and ensure preparedness for possible disruptions.
The meeting was attended by regional executive directors from the eastern and southern regions, airport directors from Kolkata, Chennai, Tirupati, Raipur, Kadapa, Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Jharsuguda, and air traffic control officials from Bhogapuram and Hyderabad airports.
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