Meanwhile, the city’s metro and local trains were also affected, with services disrupted due to the stormy weather.
Mumbai’s Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport faced a brief shutdown due to heavy rain and low visibility.
Operations were suspended for about 66 minutes, causing 15 flights to divert.
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According to PTI, operations later resumed at 5.03 pm, the airport operator said in the statement.”Due to the inclement weather and dust storms in the city, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) temporarily suspended flight operations for around 66 minutes due to low visibility and gusty winds,” the airport operator said in a statement.
Stating that the operations resumed at 17:03 hours, the statement added, “during this period, the airport witnessed 15 diversions”. CSMIA had only last week completed its pre-monsoon runway maintenance successfully to ensure safe and smooth aircraft operations.
The city’s transportation grid also suffered as metro and local train services were disrupted by the lash of rains and gusty winds, as reported by Hindustan Times.
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Metro services were halted between Aarey and Andheri East stations due to a banner landing on overhead wires caused by strong winds. Similarly, suburban train services on Central Railway were affected after an overhead equipment pole bent between Thane and Mulund stations.
As per inputs from PTI, local train services on the Central Railway were suspended here for more than two hours after the overhead equipment got damaged between two stations due to the storm and rains on Monday, an official said.
The overhead pole got bent due to strong winds between Thane and Mulund stations, because of which the services were suspended around 4.15 pm, the official from Central Railway said. Slow train services on the main corridor resumed around 6.45 pm after more than two hours. “Suburban services on both the main and harbour lines are running now. The trains are, however, 25 to 30 minutes late,” said Swapnil Nila, chief spokesperson of Central Railway.
They had suspended the suburban services on both Main and Harbour lines corridors at various locations for 10-15 minutes during the storm as a precaution as there is a chance of entanglement of train pantagraph with overhead wire, he said.
Commuters, however, faced hardship due to the disruption of suburban services during peak evening rush hours. The delays caused overcrowding in trains and stations, while passengers were forced to walk on the tracks when trains came to a standstill at some stations.
According to commuters, the trains took longer to reach their destinations than usual. “A fast train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Kasara, scheduled for 4.50 pm left at 5.15 pm, and reached Thane after 7.30 pm, though usually it takes just 45 minutes to cover the distance,” a commuter activist said.
