Runway operations at the Mumbai airport had to be halted twice as visibility dropped to 300 metres, even as airlines issued advisories to passengers to arrive early at the airport in view of traffic congestion and water-logging in parts of the metropolis. 

"Runway operations were first halted for 11 minutes from 8.32 am to 8.43 am, and then again for 19 minutes from 10.36 am to 10.55 am due to adverse weather and low visibility, which dropped to 300 metres and Runway Visual Range (RVR) at 500 metres with heavy rains," said an airport source. 

During the day, a total of 11 arrivals and departures were cancelled with IndiGo cancelling 10 services, including five arrivals, and Air India cancelling one departure from Mumbai. Besides, 10 flights were diverted initially to nearby airports such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, Indore and MOPA airport in Goa, the source said, adding, "All flights later came back to Mumbai." 

"Heavy rains in Mumbai are affecting flight operations and resulting in cancellation and diversion of some of our flights. Air India is offering full refunds or a one-time complimentary rescheduling for bookings confirmed for travel on 25th July 2024," Air India said in an update on X. 

It also advised passengers to check their flight status on its website prior to heading to the airport. 

"Continuous and heavy rains over #Mumbai are causing periodic delays in flight schedules. While we strive to give you real-time updates, we kindly ask you to check your flight status before leaving for the airport," said IndiGo in its travel advisory on X. 

"Due to heavy rains in Mumbai, we request you to reach the airport well in time, as water-logging may slow down traffic movement," it stated. 

A similar advice was posted on X by Akasa, urging people to reach the airport well in time due to heavy rains in Mumbai, saying that the water-logging may slow down traffic movement.