All 32 flights from Vizag Airport cancelled as Cyclone Montha hits Andhra coast

Flight and train operations across Andhra Pradesh were severely disrupted by Cyclone Montha on Tuesday. All 32 flights from Visakhapatnam Airport and several services from Vijayawada and Tirupati were cancelled, while 120 trains were suspended across the South Central Railway zone

Amaravati: All flights, 32 in total, operating out of Visakhapatnam Airport were cancelled on Tuesday owing to the severe cyclonic storm ‘Montha’, said an official.
Visakhapatnam Airport Director N Purushottam said two Air India Express flights were cancelled on October 27.

“Actually, we are operating 30 to 32 movements (flights) daily, domestic as well as international. Today, all those flights are cancelled,” Purushottam told PTI. Other than the two cancelled Air India Express flights on Monday, he said the rest of the 30 flights had operated on October 27.

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Further, he said the airport has taken precautions to shield it from the severe cyclonic storm as per the Airports Authority of India (AAI) guidelines, covering pre-cyclone and post-cyclone phases.

Likewise, Vijayawada Airport has cancelled 16 flights today, but managed to operate five flights. “Yesterday (Monday), there was only one flight cancellation to Vizag. But today, 16 flights were cancelled to various destinations, including Delhi, Mumbai, across the country,” said Vijayawada Airport Director Lakshmikanth Reddy.

According to Reddy, the airlines have taken a decision to suspend operations for today, adding that clarity could emerge by evening about tomorrow’s flight operations. Similarly, four flights were cancelled in Tirupati Airport.

Meanwhile, 120 trains were cancelled in total on October 27 and Tuesday across the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone, said a railway official.