Flight operations at Chennai airport will remain suspended from 7 pm on Wednesday to 7 am on Thursday in view of Cyclione Nivar which is expected to make a landfall in the midnight.
"The decision has been taken considering the safety aspects aspect of passengers and the severity of approaching cyclone,” the Airport Authority of India said in a statement.
Chennai airport, the fourth busiest in the country, has been witnessing a rise in number of daily passengers with over 17,000 people travelling to and from the airport through 180 flights on November 24.
The AAI urged all domestic and international passengers travelling to and from Chennai airport to contact the respective airlines for any change in flight schedule.
Meanwhile, in its latest bulletin on Wednesday morning, the IMD said that Nivar is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours.
"It is very likely to move northwestwards and cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram around Puducherry during mid-night of November 25 and early hours of November 26 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 120-130 kmph gusting to 145 kmph," it said.
Chennai and its suburbs received heavy overnight rains, with low-lying areas getting inundated and water entering houses in such localities.
Civic body officials were involved in clearing the roads of stagnant water, even as many city residents recalled the damage caused during the 2015 deluge.
A holiday has been declared in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday in view of the cyclone's expected landfall while transport services have been suspended.
Meanwhile, PWD officials announced that 1000 cusecs of water will be released from the Chembarambakkam lake, as the level stood at 22 ft of the total 24ft.
