Cyclone Tauktae: Mumbai Airport extends suspension of operations till 10 pm

As a precautionary measure for Cyclone Tauktae, the suspension of flight operations at Mumbai airport has now been extended till 22:00 hours on Monday, May 17, 2021.

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Passenger Alert!
As a precautionary measure for Cyclone Tauktae, the suspension of flight operations has been extended till 22:00 hrs on Monday, May 17, 2021.#ImportantUpdate #CycloneAlert #Information #Airline #CSMIA #MumbaiAirport

— CSMIA (@CSMIA_Official) May 17, 2021

Earlier, an airport spokesperson had stated that the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will be closed for three hours from 11 am till 2 pm on Monday, May 17. He added that no flights will land or take off during these hours.

Passenger Alert!
CSMIA is fully prepared for Cyclone Tauktae, and as a precautionary measure our operations will remain suspended from 11:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs on Monday, May 17, 2021.#ImportantUpdate #CycloneAlert #Information #Airline #CSMIA #MumbaiAirport

— CSMIA (@CSMIA_Official) May 17, 2021

Update: The airport will now remain shut till 4.00 pm. 

This comes after India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Mumbai and warned of heavy rains at isolated places with strong winds on Monday as cyclone Tuaktae is likely to pass close to the Mumbai coast.

Meanwhile, a SpiceJet flight on its way to Mumbai from Chennai, which was scheduled to land at 8:15 am, had to be diverted to Surat in the neighbouring state of Gujarat, said officials aware of developments.

Besides, many flights scheduled to arrive at Mumbai airport today have been cancelled.

Moreover, the BMC has suspended the movement of vehicles on the Bandra-Worli sea link in the view of high-speed winds.

In addition, Mumbai Monorail has also suspended all the operations for a day.

Maharashtra and Gujarat are among several states and Union territories where an alert has been declared due to the impending cyclone.

In Gujarat, Tauktae is expected to make landfall later in the day on Monday, or in the early morning hours of Tuesday.

The threat of the cyclone has also led to the vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease in Mumbai, Maharashtra’s capital city, to be suspended for the day.