In Tamil Nadu’s Chennai, flight operations at the city’s international airport experienced moderate interruptions on Wednesday due to the Bhogi festival, traditionally marked by the burning of old household items that generates smoke, often compounded by early-morning fog and haze.
A total of eight flights were cancelled—four departures and four arrivals—while ten others faced delays of one to three hours. Airlines implemented these changes as a proactive step to address potential visibility issues from smoke and fog, notifying passengers well in advance via messages to minimize inconvenience.
The cancelled departures included services to Pune (originally 3:05 a.m.), Coimbatore (6:35 a.m.), Mumbai (7:15 a.m.), and Delhi (8:00 a.m.). Cancelled arrivals were from Delhi (5:20 a.m.), Mumbai (6:35 a.m.), Pune (7:10 a.m.), and Coimbatore (9:10 a.m.).
Among delayed departures were flights to Vijayawada (shifted from 5:40 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., a three-hour delay), Thoothukudi (from 6:10 a.m. to 9:10 a.m.), Visakhapatnam (from 6:20 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.), Muscat (from 7:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.), Andaman (from 7:40 a.m. to 8:40 a.m.), Bengaluru (from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.), and Tiruchirappalli (from 9:10 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.). Delayed arrivals included those from Singapore (from 5:55 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.), Muscat (from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.), and Kuala Lumpur (from 7:00 a.m. to 8:40 a.m.).
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Authorities noted that, as of 7:00 a.m., no significant smoke haze or fog had materialized at the airport, resulting in less severe impacts than anticipated. This year’s disruptions proved milder compared to previous instances.
Such issues have recurred annually during Bhogi, the day before Pongal, when residents in neighborhoods near the airport—including Meenambakkam, Gowl Bazaar, Pozhichalur, Pammal, Anakaputhur, Thoraipakkam, Manapakkam, and Nandambakkam—burn discarded materials like plastics and tyres. This practice produces dense smoke that can engulf the runway, reducing visibility further when combined with fog.
In 2018, the worst year on record, 73 departing and 45 arriving flights—118 services in total—were affected. In 2024, 27 arrivals and 24 departures, totaling 51, faced disruptions.
Anticipating similar challenges for the 2025 Bhogi (observed in 2026), the Airports Authority of India rescheduled around 30 flights between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., ensuring passengers received prior alerts.
Thanks to these measures and lighter-than-expected conditions, operations avoided major chaos, with no widespread reports of stranded travelers.
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