IndiGo and Air India warn of flight delays at Delhi airport after Sept 5-6 downpours; IGI says ops normal but roads flooded. Check status and leave early.
Cover image: an IndiGo Airbus A320neo taxiing on the runway — photo by This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would m, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
IndiGo and Air India have both warned passengers of possible flight delays at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after intense rain battered the capital for a second straight day on September 5 and 6. The airport operator says operations are continuing normally, but flooded approach roads, an IMD alert running from yellow to orange (with red alerts in parts of the city), and advisories from both carriers mean travellers should check flight status and allow extra time.
IndiGo issued its travel advisory on September 5: "Bad weather is currently affecting #Delhi, leading to possible delays in flight operations." The airline asked passengers to check flight status on its website or app, adding that teams were monitoring the situation to minimise disruption. Air India cautioned that flight operations to and from Delhi could be affected by adverse weather. The IANS news agency reports the airport operator told passengers around 10:30 am that "airport operations were currently continuing normally," with ground staff working alongside partners to keep passenger flow smooth.
How bad is the Delhi rain?
The numbers tell a story of persistent rather than record rain. Safdarjung recorded 0.7 mm overnight and another 1.3 mm between 5:30 am and 8:30 am on Saturday. The minimum temperature fell to 24.8 degrees Celsius, 3.4 degrees below the previous day. But drainage, not volume, is the problem: streets across the capital went under water, with inundation reported at the Palam Airport tunnel, Geeta Colony, Mandi House, Subroto Park, Akbar Road and the Outer Circle of Connaught Place, where pumps were deployed and shops faced flooding.
Multiple services ran late or were called off on Friday, with disruption persisting into Saturday. Routes around the airport were among those affected, which is why both airlines stress the journey to the airport as much as the flight itself.
What should Delhi flyers do?
Three steps cover it:
- Check before leaving. Verify your flight's status on the airline website or app, not just your booking confirmation.
- Leave early. Flooded roads around IGI can turn a 45-minute trip into two hours. IndiGo explicitly advises budgeting extra travel time.
- Know your rights. If your flight is cancelled or heavily delayed, Indian rules entitle you to rebooking or refund, an area now under judicial scrutiny ahead of the Supreme Court's airfare-rules hearing on September 7.
Monsoon pressure on Indian aviation
The advisories cap a bruising week for Indian carriers. IndiGo has also been managing the fallout from a medical diversion of its Doha-Bengaluru flight to Muscat, while network expansion continues with new routes such as Akasa Air's Mumbai-Hanoi launch. Monsoon disruption is routine, but back-to-back days of waterlogged airport access test the system's resilience at the country's busiest hub.
Frequently asked questions
Are Delhi flights cancelled due to rain?
As of September 6, the airport operator says operations are continuing normally, with delays rather than mass cancellations. Some services were late or called off on September 5. Check your specific flight's live status.
What did IndiGo say about Delhi weather delays?
IndiGo's September 5 advisory says bad weather is affecting Delhi with possible delays to flight operations, and asks passengers to check status online and allow extra time for flooded roads.
Is it safe to travel to Delhi airport in the rain?
Allow plenty of extra time: the Palam Airport tunnel and several arterial roads flooded. Consider the Airport Express metro, which is unaffected by road waterlogging.
