Smog from Bhogi celebrations delays nearly 20 flights in Chennai

CHENNAI: The impact of Bhogi celebrations on flight operations at city airport was minimal on Monday, according to officials. Nearly 50 flights were delayed due to smog last year, and the number this time is 20.

Airport authorities said morning rain had cleared the air of smoke, resulting in standard visibility.

Meanwhile, airlines such as Oman Air, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, AirAsia, and Air Arabia rescheduled their operations in advance, anticipating poor visibility.

Three Indigo flights – two from Delhi and one from Bengaluru – that were supposed to land on Monday morning were cancelled. At Chennai airport, between 6.30am and 7.30am, the visibility factor reduced to 400m. It improved to 600m around 8am.

An Indigo flight from Singapore, scheduled to land at 7.55am, landed at 9.40am. Another from Abu Dhabi was delayed by an hour and landed at 9.10am. Sri Lankan Airlines from Colombo landed 9.54am against the scheduled 8.40am. Further, about eight flights to various domestic destinations were delayed.