Record rain in Delhi grounds airport ops

New Delhi, September 11

The forecourt of the Delhi airport was waterlogged, three flights were cancelled and five diverted to Jaipur and Ahmedabad as heavy rains lashed the national capital on Saturday morning.

Highest in 46 years

• Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the national Capital, including Moti Bagh
• An official of the Meteorological Dept said the Capital had received 97 mm of rainfall from Friday till Saturday evening
• A record 1,136.6 mm rainfall this monsoon season so far

This monsoon, Delhi recorded 1,136.6 mm of rainfall till Saturday evening, the highest in 46 years and almost double the precipitation recorded last year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Passengers posted several videos on social media sites showing cars submerged in the forecourt. The videos also showed people either wading through the water to reach the entry gate of the airport or standing on raised areas to avoid water. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter that he spoke to airport officials and “was told that the waterlogged forecourt was cleared in 30 minutes”. The Aerocity area, which houses multiple luxury hotels, near the airport was also waterlogged with people trying to manoeuvre their vehicles through accumulated water, showed another set of videos.

Spokesperson for the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said: “The airport operator has been requesting the state and the Central government agencies for the past few years to widen the underground drainage system that goes from Terminal 3 to Najafgarh. This morning, due to sudden high downpour, the forecourt of Terminal 3 of Delhi Airport saw waterlogging, which cleared within a few minutes.”

Sources said due to bad weather five flights were diverted from the airport. Four domestic flights — two of SpiceJet and one each of IndiGo and Go First — were diverted to Jaipur. One international flight — Emirates from Dubai to Delhi — was diverted to Ahmedabad.

Sources added that three IndiGo flights which were scheduled to depart from Delhi were cancelled under the prevailing weather conditions. An official of the meteorological department said the national capital received 97 mm rainfall since Friday morning.