Dubai to Delhi flight delayed by 11 hours due as monsoon rains cause travel chaos

Passengers spent five hours waiting inside the plane before it took off for India

An Indian man stands near his house as waves caused by high tide hits the huts on the shore of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Heavy monsoon rains in Maharashtra have led to more than 30 deaths since Monday night, from collapsed walls, drownings and other causes. Dozens of others have been injured. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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Passengers have been left fuming after their Indigo flight to Delhi, India, from Dubai International Airport was delayed 11 hours.

Airline officials said the delay was caused by the closure of a runway in Mumbai, which they said had a knock-on effect on their flights. Officials said this closure caused passengers to be stuck in the plane for five hours before it took off — an hour longer than the flight time between Dubai and Delhi.

Indigo Flight 6E024 was due to leave the emirate at 7pm on Tuesday but did not depart until 6.12am on Wednesday.

Passengers had been notified of several delays throughout the evening and finally boarded the plane at 1.35am.

TOPSHOT - A SpiceJet aircraft is surrounded by airport staff as it stands stranded off the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on July 2, 2019, after it overran the runway while landing during heavy rain, causing no injuries. / AFP / PUNIT PARANJPE
A SpiceJet flight that overran the runway in Mumbai has led to travel chaos. AFP 

“Due to the ongoing closure of the main runway in Mumbai, after an incident with another airline, compounded by the severe weather conditions, a substantial number of cancellations and diversions for IndiGo and other airlines had to be implemented,” said a spokeswoman for Indigo.

Heavy rains have caused devastation across parts of India this week. 22 people have died in Mumbai and scores were injured as a result of the heaviest monsoon rains in a decade.

On Wednesday, the airline spokeswoman said the runway closure in Mumbai caused a ripple effect throughout the system and caused delays. She said the airline was speaking to passengers to discuss compensation.

“All passengers booked on this flight are being contacted and we are offering travel vouchers as part of the service recovery process,” she said.

The National also contacted Dubai International Airport who stated it was a matter for the airline.