Air India on Tuesday issued a travel advisory warning passengers that weather conditions associated with Tropical Cyclone Arnab could affect flights to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on October 27.
The airline urged passengers to check their flight status on its official website and allow additional time to reach airports, cautioning that adverse weather could also disrupt road travel.
In an advisory posted on X, Air India said weather conditions associated with the cyclone might affect flight operations to and from the two Andhra Pradesh cities.
Passengers can check updates through the airline’s official flight status page.
The advisory comes as authorities in Andhra Pradesh intensify preparations to manage the potential impact of Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab over the west-central Bay of Bengal.
Cyclone Expected to Approach Andhra Pradesh Coast
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), the cyclone was centred approximately 300 km from Visakhapatnam, 360 km from Kakinada, 460 km from Machilipatnam and 530 km from Bapatla as of Tuesday morning.
The storm was reported to be moving at around 25 km per hour over the preceding six hours. It was forecast to move west-northwestwards before turning northwestwards towards the coastline, with a possible landfall near Yanam by Wednesday morning.
The IMD warned that the system could intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm by the time of landfall.
Coastal areas were expected to experience sustained wind speeds of 115–125 km per hour, with gusts reaching up to 140 km per hour. Extremely heavy rainfall was also forecast at isolated places along the coast.
Extensive Disaster Preparedness Measures Underway
Authorities have stepped up preparedness measures across vulnerable areas of Andhra Pradesh to facilitate evacuations and ensure a timely emergency response.
Preliminary assessments indicate that 16 districts, covering 2,460 revenue villages and 92 urban areas, fall within the cyclone’s projected path.
According to the figures cited by the state authorities, 1,763 cyclone shelters have been made ready, while 2,907 control rooms have been established at district and mandal levels. A total of 3,185 nodal officers have also been deployed to oversee relief operations.
Evacuation protocols have been activated across 2,107 Swarna Grama and Swarna Ward units to move vulnerable residents to safer locations.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been positioned across 11 high-risk districts to undertake rescue and relief operations.
Passengers travelling to or from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada have been advised to monitor airline updates and plan their journeys in view of the anticipated adverse weather conditions.
-ANI
