Mumbai bound travelers know all too well about the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), one of India’s busiest travel hub. To travelers, the airport was shut down for six hours.
So, if you were thinking about boarding a flight from Mumbai on May 8th, well… CSMIA scheduled a no pre sale zone off time. Both secondary and main runways went temporaily out of action, meaning no flights in, no flights out.
With the monsoon rain in sight, the airport had its gee up maintenance check, which is somewhat of a norm. The way I see it, picture it like a spa getaway for the runways pre rainy season spa day.
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) team, on the other hand, were so smooth with the airlines and aviation bodies that they ensured every aspect was handled. Safety first, chaos never.”
This is not the first instance when we perfectly communicated with the airlines and aviation agencies to improve the convenience of passengers while performing maintenance work at the airport. In other terms, no one is missing their flights and avoiding getting trapped in travel trouble.
The Airlines Also Made Their Own Comments
SpiceJet and Akasa Air did not take long to post polite notifications on social media alerting users to ensure their flight details were up to date. After all, who wants to be at the airport only to find out that the plane cannot land or take off?
SpiceJet posted something to the effect of, “Issue alert travelers! This will certainly disrupt some pre-set travel plans.
Some of these updates were posted by Akasa Air – some of their flights were definitely impacted by the shutdown.
Side Note…
Amid all the commotion submerged at the airport India was consumed with other pressing matters. India just launched Operation Sindoor, a military offensive in response to the terrorist attack put on the Indian army in Pahalgam on April 22.
The operation targeted nine terrorist camps across the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), making the point that India was serious.
So, What’s the Takeaway?
Don’t worry, Mumbai Airport didn’t get hacked or suffered some bizarre breakdown. It was simply a six hour long “pause” for some necessary tender loving care (TLC) before the forecasted heavy rain. Everything was back to normal by dinnertime, after the flights got reshuffled, alerts were sent and everything was in order.
The takeaway: Make sure you check the status of your flight and perhaps give thanks for the maintenance TLC scheduled back at the runway.
