Jet Airways suspends flight operations in Chennai till Dec 6
“Operations at Chennai airport have been suspended till 12 noon on December 6, 2015 due to waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall. In view of the prevailing conditions in Chennai and in the interest of safety of its guests, crew and aircraft, Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai until December 6, 2015," the Airways said in a statement.
"Jet Airways guests with confirmed tickets to and from Chennai between December 1 and 8, 2015 will be allowed full refund or complimentary change of booking to alternative dates, depending on seat availability," it said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Thursday that he was leaving for Chennai to take stock of the flood hit city.
Modi tweeted: "Leaving for Chennai to take stock of the situation arising due to the devastating floods."
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday made an aerial survey of the food-affected areas of the state.
Chennai remained cut off from the rest of the state with road, rail and air while the Centre declared the city as disaster zone.
Reports said though there has been no rain since Wednesday night, water level has been rising steadily in parts of the city and as many as 35 lakes are reportedly flowing at dangerous levels, raising fears of more flooding as surplus water is flowing into Chennai.
The Saidapet bridge over the Adyar river, which runs through the city, was closed to traffic yesterday as water spilled onto the road. The river is overflowing as surplus water from a lake was let into the river.
The Met office has said the next 48 hours will be crucial and the rains will continue for a week. Around 200 deaths have been reported since the floods started in the middle of last month.
The Chennai International airport will remain closed till December 6. The Rajali naval air station at Arakkonam, 70 km west of Chennai, will function as a makeshift airport.
The Navy's amphibious carrier, INS Airavat, has been moved to Chennai with medical equipment, medicines and doctors. The ship is also taking 20 divers and swimmers and 15 boats.
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