Mumbai Airport shutdown hits passengers as 120 flights cancelled or rescheduled; SpiceJet scraps 70 flights, Air India 34

Mumbai Airport shutdown: In the aftermath of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport shutdown, it has been revealed  that 120 flights were cancelled and many more rescheduled due to a two-day closure of the airport starting Monday onward. The Mumbai airport authority has decided to shut down the runway for six hours on April 9 and April 10, due to repair and maintenance work, which the authorities plan to complete before monsoon season. As expected the move has already hampered travelling of passengers, looking at the massive cancellation of flights. The

Mumbai airport is considered among the busiest in India, as it handles a record of 980 flights on daily basis. 

An official said the planned closure was necessitated "on account of pre-monsoon maintenance activities" and requested all passengers to contact their respective airlines for revised travel schedules.

Although, airport officials are yet to reveal the real number of affected flights as an impact of the closure, many airlines have started announcing cancellations or rescheduling of services to and from Mumbai.

Reportedly, state-owned Air India announced cancellation of about 34 flights and has rescheduled around half a dozen other services till Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, private-carrier Jet Airways has revealed cancellation of at least 18 flights, followed by low-cost carrier Spicejet which cancelled around 70 services.

Jet Airways had already warned their passengers about the impact of Mumbai airport shutdown. On it's website said, "Guests planning their travel during this period are requested to allow for sufficient time, in case of delays, while making their bookings." 

Click here, to know details of the Jet Airway flights which are being rescheduled or cancelled. 

However, the repair process at Mumbai airport, does not end here, as another shutdown will be followed in October 23, in the same time slots, to carry out post-monsoon maintenance work on the Mumbai airport runway intersection. Thus, slots won’t be available during that day also.