Due to heavy rain and lightning on May 12 night, 11 flights were diverted from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru to Chennai.
Seven of the diverted flights were domestic while four were international flights arriving from Paris (France), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), and Bangkok (Thailand).
Two Air India flights, one from Delhi and Mumbai, two Akasa Air flights from Mumbai and Goa, one Air India Express flight from Guwahati, one Vistara flight from Delhi, and one Alliance Air flight from Goa were diverted to Chennai.
A BIAL spokesperson said that no flight could land between 11.18 p.m. and 11.54 p.m. due to heavy rain and lightning.
Later, all the flights headed back to KIA.
This is the third instance in the last two weeks of flights being diverted from KIA due to heavy rains.
On May 9, 17 flights were diverted to Chennai as heavy rainfall, accompanied by strong wind, rendered the airport inaccessible for landing.
On May 6, eight flights were diverted, seven to Chennai and one to Coimbatore as they were unable to land at KIA due to heavy rain.