Flight and train services to the central and southern districts were affected on Friday as Cyclone Gaja made landfall early in the day.
A 7 a.m. IndiGo flight to Tiruchi returned to Chennai as it could not land due to heavy winds; an Alliance Air flight to Tiruchi — that had to depart at 7.15 a.m. — too was cancelled, officials said.
A flight from Kuala Lumpur that had to land in Tiruchi was diverted to Chennai around 9 a.m.
An IndiGo flight to Thoothukudi, scheduled at 10.30 a.m., was cancelled, and a SpiceJet flight that had to leave by 6 a.m. departed only by 7.45 a.m., airport sources said.
Trains cancelled
The Southern Railway — taking into account the inclement weather — cancelled three trains and partially stopped a few trains on Friday. In a press release, the Southern Railway said three train services were cancelled. Train services between Tiruchi and Karaikudi and train service from Karaikudi to Virudhunagar were cancelled on Friday.
The railways partially cancelled two trains starting from Rameswaram — train numbers 16852 and 22662.
Both trains, which were to originate from Rameswaram, left from Ramanathapuram, skipping the Rameswaram -Ramanathapuram section.
Similarly, the Southern Railway rescheduled the Pallavan Super Fast Express proceeding from Chennai Egmore to Karaikudi junction, due to late running of the pairing train.
The train, which was to depart from Chennai Egmore at 3.45 p.m. on Friday, left the station at 7.15 p.m.
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