Chennai airport operations grounded due to Cyclone Michaung, runway flooded

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Sheikh al Madrassi / Twitter

Operations at Chennai International Airport (MAA) have been grounded after Cyclone Michaung lashed India’s west-central and coastal south region.

Heaviest hit is Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal, 90 kilometers from where the tropical cyclone intensified into a severe cyclonic storm. 

Chennai airport closed its airfield at 09:17 local time as the runway was flooded, with rainwater almost engulfing entire aircraft tyres.

The airport initially announced that it will be closed until 23:00 local time. However, as weather conditions continued to intensify, the airport provided an update that it will resume operations by 09:00 local time the following day (December 5, 2023). 

Image: FlightRadar24

Image: FlightRadar24

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Outside the airport, schools, offices and establishments are also shut until December 5, 2023 as 102 vehicles have reportedly been washed away. Five casualties have been recorded so far.

The last time Chennai airport was shut due to floods was in 2015, when it closed for four days.

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