Chennai airport flooded, SriLankan cancels flights

2 December 2015 05:50 am

Heavy rains lashed the southern Indian city of Chennai on Monday and Tuesday, closing the Chennai International Air Port.

SriLankan airlines also canceled three of their flights to Chennai today due to the closure of the airport there. The Duty Manager of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) also confirmed that a total of seven flights to Chennai have been canceled due to the flooding in Chennai.

Indian authorities issued a flood warning and educational institutions were closed, with vehicles seen afloat in the flood waters in many parts of the city. All flight operations at Chennai airport were also suspended after the runway and tarmac were submerged, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

Source said the authorities had told passengers they would wait till 11.30 pm and then decide on starting operations. Flights were diverted to Bengalaru and Hyderabad.

More rain is expected across the state of Tamil Nadu — of which Chennai is the capital — on Wednesday, and the army was deployed late Tuesday evening to manage the situation.

SriLankan Airlines statement

Colombo December 2, 2015: SriLankan Airlines has suspended four Chennai bound flights, UL121, UL127, UL123 and UL125 of December 3, in view of the closure of the  Chennai International Airport  following heavy flooding due to torrential weather conditions in South India.  
SriLankan will resume flights as soon as the Airport resumes operations and the Airline may operate a few extra flights to facilitate the stranded passengers in Chennai. 
The Airline sincerely apologises for the inconvenience faced by the passengers. 
For passenger inquiries please contact SriLankan Global Call Centre: +94 19733 1979.