CHENNAI:
Chennai International Airport turned into an unscheduled relief hub on Friday evening as severe weather forced six Bengaluru-bound flights — including five commercial passenger aircraft and one cargo freighter — to divert mid-route.
The diversions, which occurred over a three-hour window between 6:25 PM and 9:40 PM IST, included aircraft operated by IndiGo, Air India Express, Gulf Air, and Germany-based cargo airline AeroLogic.
Among the first arrivals was IndiGo flight 6E6014, an Airbus A320 en route from Dehradun, which landed in Chennai at 6:25 PM. It was followed closely by Air India Express flight IX2747 from Bagdogra at 6:35 PM and IndiGo flight 6E6508 from Rajkot’s Hirasar Airport at 6:37 PM. All three aircraft had been scheduled to land in Bengaluru but were redirected due to adverse weather conditions in and around the city.
At 7:10 PM, a Boeing 777 freighter operated by AeroLogic, inbound from Hong Kong under flight number 3S0533, was also forced to land in Chennai. This widebody cargo aircraft, originally destined for Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, was accommodated at a remote stand typically reserved for large international operations.
The weather showed no signs of improvement into the late evening. Gulf Air flight GF280, an Airbus A321 from Bahrain, touched down in Chennai at 9:35 PM. Just five minutes later, Air India Express diverted yet another flight — IX2012 from Guwahati — marking the sixth unscheduled arrival redirected from Bengaluru that day.
Chennai, with its relatively uncluttered apron and operational agility, has increasingly become the emergency buffer for Bengaluru during meteorological and air traffic congestion events.
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