Dubai Rain Forecast: Indigo's flight operations set to be impacted; Vistara also issues weather advisory

On Thursday, May 2, airlines Indigo and Vistara issued an advisory through social media due to anticipated bad weather conditions from May 2 to May 5. Customers are advised to check flight status before leaving or planning for a new trip.

In a post on X, Indigo wrote, "#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to adverse weather conditions in #Dubai #Sharjah & #AbuDhabi , our flight operations are impacted. Please keep track of your flight status at http://bit.ly/2EjJGGT before leaving for the airport."

Vistara also posted on X and wrote, "#TravelUpdate: Due to the anticipated bad weather conditions from May 2nd to May 5th, traffic congestion is expected enroute to Dubai Airport. Customers are advised to allow more time for their journey to the airport. Thank you."

Yesterday, May 1, Vistara aircraft made emergency landing at Bhubaneswar airport due to hailstorm. A Vistara flight from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi had to return minutes after takeoff and made an emergency landing after being caught in a hailstorm and sustaining damage, according to an agency report. All 169 passengers and personnel on board were safe.

The hailstorm that hit various regions of Odisha this afternoon caused a crack in the aircraft's windscreen.

"The New Delhi-bound Vistara flight landed back at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here barely 10 minutes after taking off," the officials said.

"A windshield has been damaged, while no harm was caused to the passengers," BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan said.

Meanwhile, the airline in a statement said, “We confirm that Vistara flight UK788 encountered adverse weather soon after take-off, resulting in a crack in its windshield and minor damage to the radome.” Radome is the 'nose' of an aircraft where the airborne weather radar is hidden.

"The aircraft is undergoing necessary checks before resuming operations. In the meanwhile, an alternate aircraft has been arranged to complete the journey, which will depart shortly," the statement read. Read more here

About a couple of weeks ago, two of its Vistara flights, from Trivandrum (TRV) in Kerala, Bhubaneswar (BBI) in Odisha, and Mumbai in Maharashtra, that were originally scheduled to reach New Delhi were also diverted due to bad weather around Delhi Airport. While the flights from Trivandrum and Bhuvaneswar were diverted to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the flight from Mumbai was diverted to Amritsar (ATQ) in Punjab. Read more here

On April 30, aviation regulator DGCA suspended a senior Vistara official for lapses in the conversion training of pilots, according to an agency report. Vikram Mohan Dayal, Vice President of Training at the full-service carrier, has been removed from his post, PTI reported citing sources.