Air India issues travel advisory as Cyclone Arnab threatens flights to Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada

Air India on Tuesday issued a travel advisory warning that weather conditions associated with Tropical Cyclone Arnab may affect flights to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, urging passengers to check their flight status and allow extra time to reach airports amid forecasts of severe weather along the Andhra Pradesh coast.

In its advisory posted on X, Air India wrote, “Weather conditions associated with Tropical Cyclone Arnab may impact flights to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on 27 October.”

It also cautioned that road travel could be affected by adverse weather conditions and advised passengers to check flight updates on its official website.

“Guests are advised to check their flight status on the Air India website: https://www.airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html.

Road travel may also get affected due to inclement weather. Please allow extra time for your journey to the airport.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,” the airline stated.

This advisory comes as a massive disaster response effort is underway across coastal Andhra Pradesh as Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Arnab’ accelerates across the west-central Bay of Bengal.

Moving at a speed of 25 km/h over the past six hours, the storm is projected to make landfall near Yanam—between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam—by Wednesday morning, bringing dangerous winds and extremely heavy rainfall.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), Cyclone Arnab was centred approximately 300 km from Visakhapatnam, 360 km from Kakinada, 460 km from Machilipatnam, and 530 km from Bapatla as of Tuesday morning.

APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain stated that the cyclone will maintain its west-northwestward track until Tuesday evening before veering northwestward toward the coastline.

IMD warned that Cyclone Arnab is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm at the time of landfall. Coastal areas are expected to bear the brunt, with sustained wind speeds of 115–125 km/h and gusts reaching up to 140 km/h. The weather office has also forecast extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places along the coast.

Preliminary assessments indicate that 16 districts, encompassing 2,460 revenue villages and 92 urban areas, fall directly in the cyclone's trajectory.

To mitigate the impact and ensure a swift emergency response, authorities have put extensive measures in place. As many as 1,763 cyclone shelters have been readied, backed by 2,907 control rooms set up at district and mandal levels. To oversee relief operations on the ground, 3,185 nodal officers have been deployed.

Evacuation protocols are already active across 2,107 Swarna Grama and Swarna Ward units to shift vulnerable residents to safer locations. Meanwhile, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been positioned across 11 high-risk districts to handle rescue and relief work.