Delhi airport roof collapse: All flight operations suspended from Terminal 1 till further notice

Delhi witnessed heavy rainfall on Friday morning (Image: Reuters)

Delhi airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on June 28 suspended all flight operations from Terminal 1 till further notice after a canopy collapsed following torrential rains -- killing one and injuring six people.

While the cause for the collapse is being assessed, the primary cause seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours, said a DIAL spokesperson.

DIAL said it has formed a a technical committee to investigate the cause of the incident and will give the report as soon as possible.

"As a precautionary measure, all flight operations from Terminal 1 have been suspended till further notice and rescheduled by the respective airlines to operate from Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, till the impacted areas are restored for operations," the DIAL spokesperson stated.

DIAL said it is working with all relevant agencies, including Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), to assess the situation and restore operations.

Terminal 1 is used for domestic flights operated by IndiGo and SpiceJet.

In a post on X, IndiGo, earlier in the day said that all flights from Delhi airport T1 have been cancelled until 12 am, June 29. Flights due to arrive at T1, will now arrive either at T2 or T3 in Delhi, it added.

Separately, SpiceJet stated, "All affected SpiceJet flights departing from Terminal 1 are being re-accommodated to Terminal 3. Necessary information has been communicated to all the passengers via SMS/Email."

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, 228.1 mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung, the city's primary weather station, 192.8 mm at Lodhi Road, Mausam Bhavan, 150.4 mm at Ridge, 106.6 mm at Palam, and 66.3 mm at Ayanagar in the last 20 to 30 hours.

The IMD, which defines very heavy rain as rainfall amounting to between 124.5 and 244.4 mm in a day, said later in the morning that the monsoon has arrived. The downpour began around 3 am on Friday.