Cyclone Fengal: Flight unable to land due to cross winds at Chennai airport, video goes viral

Chennai airport witnesses strong winds during Cyclone Fengal, leading to multiple flights executing missed approaches for safety.

On November 30, during the forenoon, as Chennai was preparing to brace for the impact of Cyclone Fengal, the airport witnessed strong winds.

Around 10.30 a.m. an IndiGo flight from Mumbai had to land at Chennai airport. But due to heavy winds, the aircraft made a missed approach, did a go-around and was later diverted to Hyderabad airport. 

A video of the aircraft’s missed approach has gone viral on social media. “When the pilot makes a final approach to land but is unable to do so, then he will carry out a missed approach protocol, perform a go-around and communicate the decision to the Air Traffic Control. This is done to prevent unsafe landing. When he knows it may be difficult to land, he will either make another attempt and make a second approach or will execute a diversion to make a safe landing at an alternate aerodrome,” an official of Airports Authority of India (AAI). A missed approach is done only after following all the standard operating procedures. It is a decision taken by the pilot, he added. 

Meanwhile, in a statement, IndiGo said, “Due to adverse weather conditions, including rain and strong, gusty winds (which later led to the closure of Chennai airport), the cockpit crew of flight 6E 683, operating between Mumbai and Chennai, executed a go-around on November 30, 2024, in accordance with established safety protocols. This is a standard and safe maneuver, and our pilots are extensively trained to handle such situations with the utmost professionalism. A go-around is performed when a safe landing cannot be achieved, as was the case with this flight.”

This was not the only flight which had a missed approach and there were about 20 flights on Saturday morning between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. which had missed approaches and did a go-around, the AAI official said.

Meanwhile, though the Chennai airport resumed flight operations at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, the flight cancellations continued. As many as 78 domestic and international flights were cancelled at Chennai airport on Sunday too. “These were consequential cancellations because of the Saturday’s flight cancellations,” another official said.