Steep land gradient slope along with heavy downpour caused the waterlogging in the forecourt of Terminal 3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.
"Delhi has been witnessing record-breaking rains since last evening. This morning, due to extremely high downpour, the forecourt of Terminal 3 of Delhi Airport saw some waterlogging, which was cleared within a few minutes," a DIAL spokesperson said.
"The primary reason for rainwater moving towards Terminal 3 is the steep land gradient slope of about 17 metres between NH8 and Terminal 3. Due to this steep gradient, the entire area between NH8 and Terminal 3 acts as a catchment and drains water towards the terminal. This water is eventually carried by the city's underground drainage system from Terminal 3 to the Najafgarh drain," he added.
According to the spokesperson, this drainage system from T3 to the Najafgarh drain requires widening.
"DIAL has been working with state and Central government bodies and officials for the past few years, requesting them to widen this underground drainage system. Several discussions on this matter have already taken place. We hope the drainage system would be widened soon," he said.
On Saturday morning, heavy rains led to waterlogging in several areas of the IGI Airport. The arrival area of Terminal 3 was waterlogged for some time before it was cleared.
However, flight operations continued unhindered at the airport, though several airlines said that inclement weather delayed some flights.
"Due to bad weather in #Delhi, flight departures and arrivals are impacted," IndiGo said in a tweet.
SpiceJet tweeted: "Due to bad weather in Delhi (DEL), all departures or arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected."
"Due to waterlogging on account of heavy rains in Delhi, traffic congestion is expected. Customers travelling are advised to allow more time for their journey to the airport. Thank you," Vistara said