Scenes of confusion unfolded at the airport as passengers faced lengthy delays, with many waiting for up to 12 hours before the situation stabilised.

Chennai: Flight operations at Chennai International Airport resumed on Sunday morning after Cyclone Fengal passed over the North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts.

Chennai airport announced suspension of operations till 4 am on December 1 following heavy inundation of runways and the taxiway

Chennai and its surrounding regions, including Puducherry, faced steady rains and gusty winds as Cyclone Fengal made landfall, disrupting public transport and forcing authorities to evacuate residents from vulnerable areas. Public transport, including buses, trains, and flights, has been heavily impacted.

The cyclone is expected to cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram around 30 November morning as a depression with a wind speed of 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph.

The storm, the second to develop over the Bay of Bengal this season, packed gusts reaching up to 90 km per hour as it crossed the coastline. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai warned of continued heavy rainfall through Sunday,

Cyclone Fengal-triggered heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds lashed northern Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry on Saturday.

Chennai and nearby areas experienced heavy rains due to cyclone Fengal, disrupting transport services and prompting evacuations. While no major damage was reported, hospitals were inundated, and operations at Chennai airport were suspended.

Cyclone Fengal has begun making landfall near the Puducherry coast, and is expected to cross the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast within the next few hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has confirmed.

Cyclonic storm Fengal completed its landfall across the Tamil Nadu coast on Sunday around 2 am, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a post on social platform X. The landfall began across the coast between Mahabalipuram and Puducherry and lasted for several hours on Sunday night.