Cyclone Tauktae: Mumbai airport suspends operation till 10 pm

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport | Pic/AFP

The city's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has extended the suspension of all air services to 10 pm from 8 pm announced earlier due to the cyclone Tauktae.

This is the fourth time in the day, the private airport operator has extended the closure of operations after first announcing it for three hours, starting 11 am. "The closure of the flight operations at CSMIA has been extended further till 2000 hours of May 17," the private airport operator said in the updated statement.

Also Read: Cyclone Tauktae: Mumbai cops maintain vigil amid rains, winds

Mumbai airport, which is the second busiest aerodrome in the country, is reportedly operating around 250 flights in a day due to low passenger demand amid the deadly and more virulent second wave of the pandemic.

Further, three city-bound flights operated by budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet were diverted due to the closure of all services at the city airport in the morning. A city-bound IndiGo flight was diverted to Hyderabad and a SpiceJet flight to Surat, while one IndiGo flight was sent back to Lucknow, as per the airport.

Gusty winds and heavy showers lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Monday as the "very severe cyclonic storm" Tauktae headed towards Gujarat, uprooting trees and disrupting local train services in the metropolis, according to officials.