Two flights return due to low visibility

Two private carrier flights returned to Madhurapudi airport here on Monday as the visibility levels dropped drastically after a thick blanket of clouds covered the entire area. The flights circled the sky for about 30 minutes before going to Hyderabad as the visibility did not improve.

The Jet Airways from Hyderabad hovered for over half an hour before the pilot took a decision to return causing inconvenience to scores of passengers. "Due to the harsh weather and poor visibility, the flights could not be landed. We could not put the passengers' lives in jeopardy as the visibility levels were very low," an airport official told TOI. The Jet Airways flight was to land at 12 pm.

Earlier, a SpiceJet flight, which was scheduled to land here at 10.40 am, also returned as the runway visual range (RVR) dropped to the lowest level. The airport has a new terminal building, which was inaugurated recently.