Nine flights diverted due to heavy rain at Katunayake airport

By T.K.G .Kapila

Heavy rainfall experienced in the early hours of May 22 around the Katunayake International Airport caused significant disruption to flight operations, the Airport Duty Officer said.

Due to adverse weather conditions affecting landing visibility and runway operations, nine incoming international flights were diverted to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka as well as Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram airports in India.

Accordingly, two Qatar Airways flights arriving from Doha, two Air Arabia flights from Sharjah, one Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi, and one Jazeera Airways flight from Kuwait were diverted to Mattala Airport.

The affected Qatar Airways flights included QR-662, which was scheduled to land at 03.45 a.m., and QR-658, which was due to arrive at 02.35 a.m.

Air Arabia flights G9-587 (arriving at 02.30 a.m.) and G9-502 (arriving at 04.00 a.m.) were also rerouted to Mattala. In addition, Etihad Airways flight EY-394 from Abu Dhabi, scheduled to land at 03.30 a.m., and Jazeera Airways flight J9-551 from Kuwait, arriving at 04.45 a.m., were similarly diverted.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines flight UL-226 from Dubai, which was approaching Katunayake at 04.45 a.m., and IndiGo flight 6E-1171 from Chennai, scheduled to arrive at 03.20 a.m., were diverted to Cochin Airport in India.

Furthermore, an Air India flight AI-277 from New Delhi, which was approaching Katunayake at around 04.30 a.m., was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram Airport in India.

Airport authorities stated that the diversions were carried out as a precautionary measure to ensure flight safety amid continuing heavy rainfall and reduced operational visibility at Katunayake International Airport.