Smoke from Bhogi celebrations affects over 40 flights at Chennai airport; operations resume after four hours

Around 30 departing flights got delayed and 12 were diverted in and out of Chennai airport after operations there suffered on Saturday following a thick cover of smoke due to ‘Bhogi’ festival celebrations. The services resumed four hours after the disruption.

Between 4-8 am, both the incoming and the outgoing air traffic suffered, they said, adding the services were expected to resume after 9 am. As many as 18 arriving flights were diverted to Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. They flew in from various destinations such as Kuwait, Sharjah and Delhi. No flights took off during this period, resulting in delays and scores of passengers waiting at the airport. [caption id=“attachment_3945599” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Bhogi, celebrated ahead of the Tamil harvest festival Pongal on Sunday, involves burning of old articles in a symbolic gesture of bidding adieu to the old and welcoming the new. Meanwhile, motorists plied their vehicles with their headlights on following the smoke cover which descended on the city and its neighbourhoods. The government launches regular awareness campaigns ahead of Bhogi, aimed at smoke-free celebrations of the day. With inputs from PTI