Rough weather diverts three flights, disrupts operations at Chattogram Airport

Inclement weather threw air travel into disarray at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport on Tuesday, forcing the diversion of three flights and causing widespread delays as heavy rain and gusty winds battered the port city.

Two international services and one domestic flight were unable to land safely and were redirected to Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, airport authorities confirmed. The diversions came as the Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded an extraordinary 386.8 millimetres of rainfall in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday noon, far exceeding the threshold of 88 millimetres that classifies rainfall as extremely heavy.

Airport Public Relations Officer Engineer Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil told the media at 2:00pm that US-Bangla Airlines flight BS-350, arriving from Abu Dhabi, and Air Arabia flight G9-526, arriving from Sharjah, both aborted their landing attempts due to perilous visibility and wind conditions before being diverted to Dhaka. Additionally, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-121, operating on the domestic Dhaka-Chattogram route, was forced to turn back mid-approach and return to its origin after pilots deemed it unsafe to touch down.

The adverse weather also severely impacted the airport’s overall schedule. Officials reported that nearly all arriving and departing flights were experiencing delays ranging from 30 minutes to one hour, leaving passengers stranded and schedules in flux.

Meteorological data revealed that wind gusts in the airport vicinity reached speeds of 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, compounding the dangers posed by the relentless downpour. The Patenga Weather Office confirmed that the 386.8 mm rainfall recorded was among the heaviest single-day totals in recent times.
The authority concerned assured that flight operations would resume normalcy as soon as weather conditions improve. However, authorities have urged passengers to maintain contact with their respective airlines for updated flight statuses and to exercise patience during the disruption.