Rains in Chennai force diversion of 2 flights to Bengaluru

Chennai, Sep 17: Two incoming international flights to Chennai were diverted to Bengaluru in the wee hours today due to heavy rainfall in and around the airport here.

A Cathay Pacific flight with 228 passengers from Bangkok and a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur carrying 286 people could not land here due to the downpour and were diverted to Bengaluru, airport authorities said.

The two flights were scheduled to land here at 3.20 AM and 3.50 AM respectively. Passengers of the two flights were accommodated in hotels in Bengaluru and later flown back here this afternoon, they said.

Several parts of the city and suburbs got heavy showers since late last night till dawn. The weatherman said the Chennai airport gauged 3 cm of rainfall till 8.30 AM. Chennai received 6 cm of precipitation during the period.

The MeT office has predicted more rain in the city during night or early morning hours over the next two days.

PTI