According to officials, those on the Delhi to Shirdi route were in Navi Mumbai on Friday because of the kind of poor weather that doesn’t allow for anything else. It’s a case in point for how hard rain in the Mumbai area is making you be more of a flexible, patient flyer these days.
Why the diversion matters
A run from Delhi to Shirdi is usually a matter of timing, with some having personal or spiritual reasons to be there. But when a storm comes in, it throws a wrench in things well past the tarmac and into your road time and what comes after.
They rerouted to Navi Mumbai as a no-nonsense way to keep everyone on board and in the cockpit out of any trouble, once it was clear conditions at Shirdi weren’t going to get any better.
What the airline has said
IndiGo has put out a word of warning about the heavy rain in Mumbai and the fact that you might not be moving as fast on the roads as you’d like. They are telling people to give themselves a head start to the airport and to be on top of any updates.
Before you go, they want you to have a look at traffic and recheck where your flight is at via the app or site. And if you need something, their people at the airport are on it.
The airline’s key points are simple enough:
– Be at the airport earlier than you would normally
– Have an eye on local traffic before you leave
– See where your flight is on the app or website
– Don’t hesitate to ask the airport staff for help
How travellers felt the impact
There is some uncertainty in a diversion, but it also means they aren’t taking chances. For the ones who made it to Navi Mumbai, it was a steadying hand while the rest of the day was being reorganized on the ground.
That’s the idea behind the advisory they put out on Friday: to take the edge off by having you plan for the unexpected. It was only right to do so once the weather put a stop to normal operations.
A day of high caution for Mumbai region
Given the showers in the forecast, you can expect a bit of a slow-down in and out of the airport. By being upfront about road delays and pointing you to the app for verification, the airline is trying to put some control back in the hands of the passenger.
Recent precedent shows a pattern
We’ve seen this before. Take May 8, when an IndiGo from Kolkata to Patna had to be sent to Lucknow because of the weather, as per airport sources. It was the same kind of call.
Flight 6E6917 (CCU-PAT) was on to put in at Jay Prakash Narayan International between 5 and 5:15 pm, but instead made its way to Chaudhary Charan Singh in Lucknow at about 5:15.
What comes next for flyers
We’re still waiting on the full story on the Delhi-Shirdi situation. In the meantime, the airline is on it and will be of service. So it’s best to build in some extra time and be sure of your status before you head out the door.
If you have to make another leg from Shirdi, you’ll want to be in touch with the arrival side of things. A little buffer and some up-to-the-minute info is what separates a smooth rebooking from a hassle.
The weather is what you hear about, but being ready is what counts. With all the rain in the region, the Navi Mumbai turn-around is a good lesson: you can be moved for your own good, but knowing what’s up is what keeps you on course.
