Cyclone Fengal: Chennai Airport closes operations until 4 am on December 1

Chennai Airport authorities have decided to extend the closure of operations until 4 am on December 1A team of senior officials is closely monitoring the situation to facilitate the earliest resumption of operations as meteorological conditions improve A WebEx meeting was conducted on 30th November 2024 at 1630 hrs involving all stakeholders and officials from the India Meteorological Department IMD Chennai Airport said in a post on XDuring the meeting IMD provided updates indicating that the landfall is expected around 2030 hrs with prevailing weather conditions likely to persist until 2330 hrs Following consultations with AAI Headquarters and considering feedback from stakeholders it has been decided to extend the closure of operations through a NOTAM Notice to Airmen until 0400 IST on 1st December 2024 We recommend passengers check with their respective airlines regarding their flights the post addedEarlier in the day the authorities had announced that airport operations would be closed from 1230 pm to 700 pm a period which has now been extended news agency ANI reportedMultiple flights to and from Chennai were affected on Friday owing to inclement weather in the region Several airlines issued travel advisories and updates regarding their flight schedules due to the continuing heavy rains in ChennaiFlights to and from Chennai are getting affected due to inclement weather and heavy rains read an X post by Air IndiaIndiGo issued a travel advisory stating that their flights in multiple cities including Chennai Tiruchirappalli Tuticorin Madurai and others were impacted ANI reportedThe current weather conditions continue to impact flights tofrom Chennai Tiruchirappalli Tuticorin Madurai with Tirupati and Vishakhapatnam now also affected read the X post by IndiGo AirlinesMeanwhile Southern Railway announced changes to train services due to the heavy rains in Chennai caused by Cyclone Fengal according to ANIThe Dr MGR Chennai CentralJolarpettai Yelagiri Express Train No 16089 scheduled to depart from Dr MGR Chennai Central at 555 pm on Friday has been fully cancelledThe GorakhpurThiruvananthapuram North Kochuveli Raptisagar Express Train No 12511 which departed from Gorakhpur at 635 am on Friday will be diverted via Korukkupet and Perambur skipping its scheduled stop at Dr MGR Chennai Central The train will have an additional stoppage at Perambur with timings of 1130 pm arrival and 1135 pm departure Southern Railway said in a press releaseThe DhanbadAlappuzha Express Train No 13351 which departed from Dhanbad at 1135 am on Friday will also be diverted via Korukkupet and Perambur skipping its scheduled stop at Dr MGR Chennai Central The train will have an additional stoppage at Perambur with timings of 1150 pm arrival and 1155 pm departurePassengers are advised to check with railway authorities for further updates and to plan their journeys accordinglyThe India Meteorological Department IMD reported that Cyclonic Storm Fengal is expected to cross the north Tamil NaduPuducherry coast between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram on Saturday evening with wind speeds of 7080 kmph gusting to 90 kmphAccording to the IMD Cyclone Fengal located over the southwest Bay of Bengal is moving westnorthwestwards at 10 kmph It is currently positioned near latitude 123degN and longitude 807degE approximately 100 km eastnortheast of Puducherry and 100 km southeast of Chennai ANIWith ANI inputs