Air India issued a travel advisory on Tuesday for travellers flying to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on October 27, asking passengers to recheck their flight timings because of Tropical Cyclone Arnab.
In its post on X, the airline wrote: “Weather conditions associated with Tropical Cyclone Arnab may impact flights to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on 27 October.”
It also cautioned passengers about adverse weather conditions affecting road travel, urging them to allow sufficient time for the journey to the airport. Passengers travelling via the Vizag Aero Express electric bus to the new Bhogapuram airport should take extra care, as the journey from the old airport takes between 75 and 110 minutes.
Guests have been advised to check their flight status on the official Air India website: CHECK FLIGHT STATUS HERE.
Other carriers, including IndiGo, have also cancelled flights from the Vijayawada Airport. According to Skyscanner, IndiGo has cancelled flight 6E7305 from Chennai to Vijayawada and 6E7247 travelling from Bengaluru to Vijayawada on October 27.
Flights 6E2581, 6E7302, and 6E7246, which were departing from Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru respectively, have been cancelled.
Indigo has also cancelled many flights travelling to Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad to and from the Visakhapatnam Airport.
Air India’s warning comes as Cyclone Arnab strengthens into a very severe cyclonic storm projected to cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, near Yanam, by Wednesday morning. Wind speeds are expected to reach 115 to 125 kmph, with a maximum speed of 140 kmph before noon on October 28.
The cyclone is 300 km southeast of Visakhapatnam, with the centre 360 km east-southeast of Kakinada and 380km south of Gopalpur. Extremely heavy rains are expected in North Andhra’s Kakinada, Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari and Eluru districts.
Railway operations have also been affected, with Indian Railways cancelling more than 60 train services and modifying the operations of other trains as a precautionary measure ahead of the storm’s expected coastal crossing on October 28.
South Coast Railway (SCoR) said several passenger service trains were cancelled, short-terminated or short-originated to protect passengers as the cyclone approaches the eastern coast.
