Cyclone Vardah: Airlines take steps for passenger safety, succour

New Delhi: Various domestic airlines on Monday said they have initiated steps to minimise customer inconvenience and ensure safety of and provide succour to passengers travelling from or to Chennai in the aftermath of cyclone Vardah.

Several flights were diverted, cancelled and delayed in Chennai due to the cyclone that hit the coast about 10 km north of Tamil Nadu capital. 

In a statement issued here, airline major Jet Airways said the passengers travelling from or to Chennai may cancel/rebook/change their itinerary as required without any penalty for the affected flights only.

"In view of the prevailing inclement weather due to cyclonic conditions in Chennai and in the interest of safety of its guests, crew and aircraft, all Jet Airways flights to/from Chennai stand cancelled up to midnight tonight (2359 hrs IST)," the airline said in the statement.

"Guests accommodated at the terminal building have been served with refreshments."

The airline pointed out that passengers booked on domestic flights diverted to Bengaluru and Hyderabad will be flown back to their cities of origin, so as to minimise their inconvenience.

Similarly, budget passenger carrier IndiGo said it will offer full refund for those affected passengers travelling to and from Chennai on December 12-13.

"We're also waiving change fee for those who wish to reschedule/edit their itinerary," the budget carrier said.

"We are and will be providing refreshments to passengers stranded at the airport."

The airline said due to measures taken well in advance, it currently has only 70 of its passengers at the airport.

"There has been no reported damage to equipment or aircraft till now," it added.

Apart from Jet Airways and IndiGo, low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet tweeted: "#TravelUpdate : Due to cyclone VARDAH in Chennai (MAA), all flights to/from Chennai stand cancelled until 2100 hrs today. All passengers are requested to cross check their flight status before leaving for the airport."