Thirty-three flights from Chennai were diverted to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here on Monday, as heavy rains continued to pound Tamil Nadu capital and nearby districts of the neighbouring state under the impact of a cyclonic storm.

According to officials of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) that operates KIA, both domestic as well as international flights including that of Indigo, SpiceJet, Etihad, Lufthansa and Gulf Air were diverted to the city from Chennai, where many flights have also been cancelled.

The Chennai airport has been closed for arrival and departure operations till 11 pm on Monday due to severe weather conditions. As many as 70 flights arriving to and departing from the airport were cancelled owing to non-stop rains.

“Several flights have been diverted from Chennai to KIA. Chennai airport has also announced that they would remain closed for arrival operations for a specific period. Not just Chennai, even Tirupati, Visakhapatnam all these regions have issues due to weather conditions. So, there are several delays and cancellations as well. We advise passengers to check the status of their respective flights and so far, 33 flights diverted from Chennai have landed at KIA here,” a BIAL official said.