Heavy storm and strong winds wreak havoc on flight operations in North India

New Delhi: In Northern India, severe thunderstorms and strong winds have severely disrupted airline operations, leading to delays and detours. On Friday, Air India sent a travel alert advising travellers to verify the most recent flight status before departing for the airport.

“Our entire flight schedule may be affected as a result of some of our flights to and from Delhi being delayed or diverted,” the notice said. We are keeping a careful eye on the situation and are making every effort to limit any interruption.”

Dust storms and gusting winds caused 15 planes to be diverted and many to be delayed at the Delhi airport on Friday, according to airport sources. On Friday night, there were dust storms in Delhi. The weather shift affected airline operations as well as other areas of Delhi.

Many customers were incensed over the lack of flight status and boarding gate updates, and social media postings exposed the bad management and lack of communication by Air India employees.

“Shocked by Air India staff Krishna Kant Sharma referring to passengers’ valid concerns as ‘Bhandara’ during delayed boarding of AI 2705 (Delhi to Kolkata) on April 12, 2025,” wrote one user on X in indignation. Treating paying consumers in this manner is unacceptable. @airindia @DGCAIndia — we are deserving of respect and responsibility.”

“Flight AI2725 was supposed to fly by 8:00 am on April 12th, but still no update, neither on display nor by any Air India crew,” said another traveller, drawing attention to the paucity of information for the journey. What kind of service are you offering?

In a similar vein, someone enquired about flight AI 2651’s delay, writing, “@airindia What on earth is happening? We have not yet received the gate notification for AI 2651, which is scheduled to leave at 8 am. How do we proceed? In the event of a delay, who will bear the responsibility?

One user said, “There is total chaos at Terminal 3,” describing the tumultuous scene there. @airindia At the very least, provide us flight updates. No updates are being made to the boards. No Air India employees are available to assist or provide any updates. Delhi Airport @DelhiAirport @DelhiAirportGMR.

“Disarray at Delhi Airport: Almost all Air India flights are delayed,” another said. Lack of communication and inadequate personnel, @MpRammohannaidu @MoCA_GoI.