Delhi airport's forecourt waterlogged, 3 flights cancelled, 5 diverted due to heavy rains

The forecourt of the Delhi airport was waterlogged, three flights were cancelled and five diverted to Jaipur and Ahmedabad as heavy rains lashed the national capital early Saturday morning.

Various videos of the Delhi airport were posted on social media sites that showed cars submerged in water in the forecourt.

The videos also showed people either wading through the water to reach the entry gate of the airport or standing on raised areas to avoid water.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter he spoke to airport officials and "was told that the waterlogged forecourt was cleared up within 30 minutes".

The Aerocity area -- which houses multiple luxury hotels -- near the airport was also waterlogged in the morning with people trying to maneuver their cars through the accumulated water, showed another set of videos.

Reacting to the videos, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Twitter that "due to sudden heavy rain, for a short period, there was waterlogging at the forecourt".

"Our team was immediately aligned to look into it and the issue has been resolved," it added.

Operations have been back to normal since 9 am, the DIAL mentioned.

Sources said five flights were diverted from the airport this morning due to the bad weather conditions.

Four domestic flights -- two of SpiceJet and one each of IndiGo and Go First -- were diverted to Jaipur. One international flight -- Emirates flight from Dubai to Delhi -- was diverted to Ahmedabad, the sources mentioned.

They also said that three IndiGo flights which were scheduled to depart from Delhi were cancelled due to bad weather.

Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the national capital including Moti Bagh and RK Puram in south Delhi after rains lashed the city Saturday morning.

An official of the meteorological department said the national capital received 97 mm rainfall since Friday morning.