Chennai (Web Desk): Flight services suffered on Saturday following a thick cover of smoke due to 'Bhogi' festival celebrations.
The airport officials reported, both the incoming and the outgoing air traffic suffered between 4-8 am, and the services were expected to resume after 9 am.
Between 4-8 am, no flights took off during this period, resulting in delays and scores of passengers waiting at the airport.
Moreover, as many as 18 arriving flights were diverted to Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports, official said. They flew in from various destinations such as Kuwait, Sharjah and Delhi.
Started on Sunday Bhogi celebrations involves burning of old articles in a symbolic gesture of bidding adieu to the old and welcoming the new.
Meanwhile, motorists plied their vehicles with their headlights on following the smoke cover which descended on the city and its neighbourhoods.
However, in order to avoid the consequences of smoke the government initiates regular awareness campaigns ahead of Bhogi, aimed at smoke-free celebrations of the day.
