Madurai: At least two IndiGo flights from Chennai and Bengaluru on Thursday hovered for an hour because they couldn't land at Madurai airport due to heavy rains, sources said.
As per the recent update, an hour later, at around 9:50 PM, the air was cleared in the airport area, and both flights landed safely.
The incident occurred following last night's incessant rains for over two hours caused flooding in several parts of the city. Various streets in the Sellur area were also flooded as water overflowed into the Bandalkudi Canal.
Heavy rains accompanied by strong wind and thunder occurred in various parts of Madurai, including Avaniyapuram and Perungudi, where the Madurai airport is located, around 8 PM Thursday, i.e., today.
According to sources, the Madurai flight departed from Chennai at 7:20 PM and was scheduled to land at Madurai at 8:20 PM. Another flight departing Bengaluru at 7:40 PM was supposed to land at Madurai at 8:35 PM. Due to heavy rain and wind pressure, the planes could not land and started hovering over the airspace of Theni, Usilampatti, and Antipatti.
The Informed Air Traffic Control Center (ATC) officials actively collected the status of the two flights and kept instructing the pilots of the respective planes.
