Delhi Weather Chaos Forces Siddaramaiah’s Flight to Divert to Jaipur

Jaipur, May 2026 : Severe weather conditions in Delhi on Thursday night caused major disruptions to air traffic, forcing several domestic and international flights to divert to Jaipur International Airport. Among the flights rerouted due to poor visibility and stormy conditions in the national capital was a charter aircraft carrying Karnataka’s outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The senior Congress leader was travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi when deteriorating weather conditions over the Delhi-NCR region compelled aviation authorities to divert his flight to Jaipur. The aircraft landed safely at Jaipur International Airport without any incident.

Siddaramaiah was accompanied by nine people, including Karnataka Minister K. J. George and Congress leader Randeep Surjewala. Following the arrival of the chartered flight, airport authorities heightened security arrangements in and around the airport premises.

The diversion came on a politically significant day for Siddaramaiah, who resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister earlier on Thursday. His resignation immediately triggered intense political discussions and speculation across the state regarding the next leadership choice in the Congress government.

Addressing the media soon after stepping down, Siddaramaiah clarified that his resignation was voluntary and not the result of any external pressure. Party sources indicated that the Congress Legislature Party and the party high command would take a final decision on the next Chief Minister.

After formally submitting his resignation to the Governor’s Secretary, Siddaramaiah addressed a joint press conference alongside Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and Home Minister G. Parameshwara.

During the interaction, Siddaramaiah made it clear that he would continue to remain active in Karnataka politics despite relinquishing the top post.

“I will remain in state politics. The people have elected me for five years, and two years are still left. Till then, I will work for the people of Karnataka and for the people of my constituency,” he said.

Responding to questions regarding his political future, the veteran Congress leader stated that he would continue to fight against communal forces and stay committed to public service.

Meanwhile, Jaipur International Airport witnessed unusually high activity late into the night as several flights originally bound for Delhi were redirected because of the bad weather. Airport officials coordinated closely with Air Traffic Control to handle the sudden increase in air traffic and ensure passenger safety.

Among the diverted flights was Air India flight AI-1837 operating from Coimbatore to Delhi. It was followed by Air India Express flight IX-1671 from Mumbai to Delhi, Air India’s international Colombo-Delhi flight AI-278, and IndiGo flight 6E-6150 from Guwahati to Delhi.

Officials at Jaipur Airport made special arrangements for passengers affected by the unexpected diversions, while ground staff worked continuously to manage the influx of aircraft and travellers.

According to the Meteorological Department, strong winds, dust storms and poor visibility across Delhi-NCR significantly affected flight operations on Thursday evening. Airlines were advised to use nearby airports, including Jaipur, as alternate destinations until weather conditions improved.

Authorities expect normal flight operations to resume in Delhi once visibility improves and weather conditions stabilise.