Flooded streets, crew delays throw flight schedule haywire

Kolkata: Overnight rain and subsequent waterlogging across Kolkata threw air traffic into chaos on Tuesday, impacting 187 flights and leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the airport. By 7.30 pm, 42 arriving and 49 departing flights were cancelled at the airport, including those to Hanoi, Phuket, Dhaka, and Chittagong. A flight from Pune was forced to divert to Bhubaneswar around 3.30 am due to poor visibility.Inundated streets held up the arrival of airline crew, delaying 62 departures. The domino effect led to delays in 33 flight arrivals as well. Throughout the day, airlines struggled to realign schedules.For passengers, the ordeal began long before reaching the terminal. Those trying to cross waterlogged stretches at Chinar Park and Haldiram's on VIP Road, found themselves trapped in traffic. Others missed their flights altogether despite airlines delaying departures. "My brother, a CISF personnel, was stuck on his way to the airport. We requested the airline to shift his ticket, but they didn't," wrote Ankit Balotra on X. Another passenger, Harshita Jain, wrote: "Roads are flooded. No transport available. Customer care says no help as it's past 2 hours before departure," she posted online.Inside the airport, those who managed to make it were left waiting for hours as airlines struggled with missing crew. The extent of delays ranged from anything between one and a half hours to even six hours. "Flight 6E6139 was scheduled to leave at 10.20 am. Passengers have been stuck inside the airport for 6 hours, and staff have no clue when it will take off," complained P Vikas on X.Some passengers complained that flights were cancelled abruptly, catching fliers off guard. "Flight 6E 2513 to Silchar cancelled. No response from customer service. Bots can't solve the problem," wrote Indranil Sinha.Airlines put out advisories citing the "consequential impact of bad weather at Kolkata Airport" and urged passengers to check traffic and flight status before travelling. IndiGo posted: "Key routes to the airport in #Kolkata are experiencing heavy traffic today, which may affect your travel time. If you have a flight, we encourage you to check your travel route beforehand, keeping extra time in hand, and review your flight status on our website or app."Airport officials said the primary runway functioned till 11.25 am, after which operations shifted to the secondary runway for scheduled maintenance. While the runways and bays near the terminal stayed clear of waterlogging, the northern apron, including parking bays 32 to 40, was submerged. "Operational flights were not allocated these remote bays that are used as overnight parking stands," an official said.