Surat: As heavy rain, strong winds and storm-like conditions disrupted flight operations in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, at least seven inbound flights were diverted to Surat Airport, leading to unusually high air traffic and activity at the facility.

According to sources, flights operating on the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Ahmedabad, Pune-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Patna-Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar-Ahmedabad routes were among those diverted due to adverse weather conditions and safety considerations at Ahmedabad airport.

The sudden influx of aircraft resulted in a significant increase in air traffic at Surat Airport, with planes arriving one after another late into the night. Airport authorities, air traffic control and ground handling teams made special arrangements to manage the additional operations.

Sources said airport authorities were required to utilise most of the available parking infrastructure, with discussions underway on using all 18 parking bays at the airport to accommodate the diverted aircraft.

Officials continuously monitored the situation as multiple aircraft needed to be parked and serviced simultaneously. Flight operations gradually normalised after weather conditions improved in Ahmedabad. DeshGujarat