At least 27 flights heading towards Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi were diverted to other nearby airports on Sunday, May 29, after a dust storm and heavy rain lashed the capital city.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft could not land in Delhi, and air traffic control had to divert the flight to Jaipur. The Prime Minister was returning to Delhi after attending a public meeting in Devangere in Karnataka. The flight landed in capital city of Rajasthan at around 9.15 pm. It stopped there for about two hours and then took off before landing in Delhi at around midnight.
According to airport sources, several other flights were also diverted to nearby airports such as Jaipur and Lucknow, among others. Out of 27 flights, six were of Air India.
According to the Met department, dust storm hit the Palam observatory at a speed of 92 km per hour.
Just last week, bad weather conditions forced ATC to divert over 20 flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport to other cities. Moreover, several flights were delayed as dust storm and light rains lashed the national capital on May 23.
Airlines were also reported to have requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to install advanced system for providing weather updates in advance. Airlines had urged that all major airports in India should have a system which provides information about “weather conditions well in advance” to minimize delays and disruptions in flight schedules.
Sunday’s storm and rain also caused the roof of a house in Najafgarh area in Delhi to collapse, thus injuring five people. An elderly and a six-month-old girl were among the injured, who were immediately taken to hospital.
A wall of a post office in Chandni Chowk area also collapsed, damaging a few vehicles.
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