At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled across three airports — Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam — in Andhra Pradesh on Monday due to severe cyclonic storm Murasu, according to an update reported by PTI on The Hindu BusinessLine's live blog at 6:16 pm. Vijayawada Airport director M Lakshmi Kantha Reddy said IndiGo had cancelled 10 flights and Air India Express two at Vijayawada. Visakhapatnam Airport (Bhogapuram) cancelled four flights, an official from the GMR Group said. Tirupati Airport director D Boominathan noted that IndiGo had cancelled flights from Tirupati to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru.

Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine live updates

19+Domestic flights cancelled across Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam airports on Monday, per airport officials
12Cancellations at Vijayawada alone — 10 IndiGo and 2 Air India Express, per the airport director
4Flights cancelled at Visakhapatnam (Bhogapuram), per a GMR Group official
11Flights cancelled at Chennai, on services to and from Andhra cities

The Andhra cancellations followed disruption earlier in the day at Chennai, where 11 flights were cancelled — services operating between Chennai and Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kadapa and Tiruchirappalli were affected — taking the day's reported cancellations across the two states past 30. Vijayawada International Airport had listed 10 cancelled IndiGo flights for Monday, and IndiGo said it was informing affected passengers on their registered mobile numbers, according to reports of the airport announcements. News agency ANI also reported that IndiGo cancelled 10 flights scheduled from Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada and that airport authorities advised passengers to check their flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport.

Source: ANI

The flight shutdown is the latest impact of the storm Awaaz Punjab has been tracking since the weekend: Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, authorities began evacuating some 30,000 people from vulnerable areas of the Andhra coast, and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the state's preparedness on Monday, with officials warning that around 8,000 electricity poles were at risk. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says the storm is very likely to cross the southern Andhra Pradesh coast as a severe cyclonic storm, with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph, between Nellore and Narsapur close to Ongole, between 11:30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday.

Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine live updates

What happens next: passengers booked on services through Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Chennai and the other affected airports should check their flight status with their airline before travelling, as further disruption is possible through tonight's landfall window. Airlines and airport authorities are expected to review schedules as the storm crosses the coast and weather conditions clear on Tuesday.