Due to the strong winds and torrential rains caused by the Michaung cyclone in Chennai, the biggest impact has been seen on air travel. Due to this cyclone, there has been a huge increase in fares on routes from Chennai to other cities of the country. According to a media report, this increase is up to 171 per cent.

The Business Standard report has cited data from Ixigo. According to this, on December 5, one-way airfares from Chennai to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata increased by between 52 per cent and 171 per cent compared to the prices three to seven days earlier.

Air travel fares increased by 171% due to Michaung cyclone

Airfares on the Chennai-Mumbai route, the busiest flight from Chennai airport, have increased by 68.6 per cent from Rs 3,728 to Rs 6,286 in the above period. During the same period, airfares on the Chennai-Delhi route increased by 52.3 per cent from Rs 10,724 to Rs 16,334, while the Chennai-Hyderabad route saw the highest increase of 171.5 per cent. The airfare for this route increased from Rs 5,925 to Rs 16,089.

Chennai Airport had announced the cancellation of arrivals and departures till 9 am on December 5, given the cyclone. Earlier, flight operations were suspended till 11 pm on Monday. Which was later extended till December 5 due to bad weather in the city.

Meanwhile, data from flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that more than 30 Chennai-bound flights were diverted to airports in Bengaluru, Trichy, and Hyderabad on Monday. If data is to be believed, around 90 arrivals and departures were cancelled at Chennai Airport due to continuous heavy rains and strong winds in the city and surrounding areas.

At the same time, airlines have advised passengers to check the status of their flights. Domestic carriers have announced a waiver of charges for their passengers on flight cancellation or rescheduling of affected flights. IndiGo is offering discounts on cancellation/rescheduling of flights for passengers on the affected flights, the airline said in a statement on social media platform X.

In fact, on Monday, Cyclone Michuang turned into a severe cyclonic storm 90 km east-northeast of Chennai. According to the IMD, it is very likely to gradually intensify and move almost parallel to the north and close to the south Andhra Pradesh coast and move south close to Bapatla, between Nellore and Machilipatnam, as a severe cyclonic storm during the forenoon of December 5. Will cross the Andhra Pradesh coast.

India Meteorological Department said that the wind speed can increase from 90 to 100 kilometres per hour to 110 kilometres per hour. Nearly eight years ago, in December 2015, Chennai airport operations were suspended for four days after the city experienced torrential rains and floods.