All flights between Coimbatore and Chennai have been cancelled from 7.20 a.m. on Wednesday to 6 a.m. on Thursday following the impact of the torrential rains that have flooded the Chennai airport and resulted in closure of the airport from Wednesday morning.
Airport sources said that 12 flights between the two cities were cancelled from 7.20 a.m. to 3.10 p.m. on Wednesday. The 12 flights included seven from Coimbatore to Chennai and five from Chennai to Coimbatore.
The flights from Chennai to Coimbatore included three connecting flights – two to Delhi and one to Mumbai.
Airline representatives said that they informed passengers about the cancellations and have taken steps to refund the fares. Connectivity between the two cities would be restored after studying the conditions at the Chennai airport on Thursday morning.
Trains cancelled
About a dozen trains from Kerala and Coimbatore to Chennai Central and Egmore Junctions were cancelled by the Palakkad and Salem Division of Southern Railways on Wednesday (December 2). While many passengers who were aware of the situation in Chennai had cancelled their trips, other commuters were left in despair. As many as 11 trains were cancelled and many of the trains ran inordinately behind schedule resulting in their departures in the return direction being put off by several hours. The following trains were diverted: Alappuzha to Dhanbad/Tatanagar Express (13352) and the Thiruvananthapuram to Gorakhpur Raptisagar (12512) were diverted through Melpakkam, Renigunta and Gudur. The Barauni-Ernakulam Weekly Express (12521) via Tiruvottiyur and Perambur and Mangaluru-Chennai Egmore Express (16860) was diverted through Tiruvottiyur, Perambur, Katpadi and Villupuram.
Alarmed by the news they came to know about the devastating floods in the State’s capital, their friends and relatives in Coimbatore frantically tried reaching them, but in vain.
Disconnected power supply resulted in mobile towers conking off and lack of power supply also led to inability to recharge the mobile phone. Traffic congestion also resulted in people not being able to reach those in Chennai and the same factors also threw the access to internet out of reach.
The Southern Railway, Salem Division, has also announced cancellation of the following trains on December 3. The trains cancelled included train number 12243/4 Chennai – Coimbatore – Chennai Shatabadi Express, Train number 12675/6 – Chennai – Coimbatore – Chennai Kovai Express, Train number 22637 Chennai – Mangalore West Coast Express, Train number 11603/4 – Chennai Egmore – Salem – Chennai Egmore Express, 22652 Chennai – Palani Express.
The following trains will be partially cancelled or terminated on December 3: train no 22637 Chennai Central – Mangalore Exp will be partially cancelled between Chennai Central and Salem and the train will leave from Salem at 16.45 hrs. Train no 12695 Chennai Central –Trivandrum Superfast Exp will be partially cancelled between Chennai Central and Jolarpetai and the train will leave from Jolarpetai at 18.40 hrs. Train no 12680 Coimbatore – Chennai Central Intercity Exp will be terminated at Tiruvallur. Train no 12679 Chennai Central –Coimbatore Intercity Exp will leave from Tiruvallur at 15.00 hrs and train no. 16090 Jolarpetai - Chennai Central Yelagiri Express will be terminated at Tiruvallur.
