'Allow extra time for commute': Indigo issues travel advisory amid heavy rains in Mumbai; asks passengers to plan ahead

NEW DELHI: IndiGo on Wednesday issued a travel advisory in the wake of heavy rain expected in Mumbai, which the airline said could "lead to air traffic congestion and impact flight operations". "While we want your journey to be as hassle-free as possible, Mother Nature has her own plans. With heavy rains expected again in Mumbai, there’s a chance this could lead to air traffic congestion and impact flight operations," the issue said. The IndiGo assured that any changes to the flight schedule will be shared with the passengers and urged them to spare extra time for the commute."While we continue doing our best to keep operations smooth, we recommend planning ahead. Any changes to your flight schedule will be shared via your registered contact details, so do ensure they’re up to date. Check your flight status on our website or app before heading to the airport. And with waterlogging and slow-moving traffic likely, allow some extra time for your commute," the release by the airline said.On Tuesday, flight operations suffered partially in the city amid the heavy rains. From Monday midnight to 7 pm Tuesday, 11 flights were diverted to other airports, while 24 arriving flights were forced to abort landing and climb to make a second attempt at touchdown. The cascading delays hit flight schedules through the day, and worst hit were passengers booked on evening flights, with arrivals and departures delayed by an hour.Just like Monday, auto and taxi refusals were rampant. Power outages were witnessed in the suburbs. Kurla suffered as two substations of Adani Electricity shut down, affecting 1,000 families. Andheri, Jogeshwari, Kandivli, Ghatkopar, Vile Parle and Mira Road also saw power cuts.In one of the record number of diversions by BEST in recent years, 135 bus routes were diverted due to waterlogging on roads as heavy rain crippled Mumbai on Tuesday.Rain fury in MumbaiThe India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) red alert for Tuesday proved spot-on as the city endured another day of intense rainfall, making this the wettest Aug in five years. So far, 891 mm of rain has been recorded, well above the average monthly rainfall of 560.8 mm. The last time Mumbai saw higher Aug rainfall was in the year 2020, when 1,240.1 mm was recorded.The monsoon season total has also crossed expectations, reaching 2,193.2 mm, surpassing the average of 2,101.8 mm.Rainfall data further indicates that this has been one of Mumbai’s longest intense rain spells in recent years. In the past 108 hours (Aug 15–19), the city received 837.3 mm, with three of the five days logging close to or over 200 mm. This exceeds the total rainfall of June (512.7 mm) and July (797.3 mm); July is normally considered the year’s wettest month.Tuesday’s downpour was clearly much more intense than Monday’s. The IMD Santacruz observatory recorded 163.4 mm rain in a nine-hour period between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm — more than Monday’s tally of 129.1 mm for the same period. Vikhroli too saw a sharp spike at 161.5 mm, up from 139.5 mm, while Juhu, Byculla and Bandra logged marginal increases. Colaba weather station also recorded 63 mm of rain in the same period compared to 55.4 mm the previous day.The 24-hour period ending 8.30 am on Aug 19 also saw some extremely heavy rain being recorded of over 300 mm in some pockets. Chincholi in Malad reported a staggering 361 mm, one of the highest across the city.Tuesday’s spell added to a rare pattern — Mumbai inching towards yet another 200 mm-plus rain day within less than a week, after logging 244 mm between Aug 15-16 and 238 mm on Aug 18–19. In the 12 hours ending 8.30 pm on Tuesday, the IMD Santacruz observatory had already recorded 171.2 mm of rain.The rain fury also spilled into the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, with Thane, Kalyan, Vasai and Virar reporting triple-digit showers. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Aug 19, Vasai recorded 219 mm of rain while Navi Mumbai logged in 185 mm.The rain fury is expected to continue till Wednesday under an orange alert for Mumbai, with the IMD indicating some relief only from Thursday, when a yellow alert has been issued signalling reduced intensity.