Torrential rains have forced Mexico City’s main airport to suspend numerous flights for multiple hours for a second consecutive day, causing chaos in one of Latin America’s busiest travel hubs.
Authorities at Benito Juarez International Airport said on Tuesday that all runways were operating again by midday, after all flights were suspended for at least four hours earlier that day. Around 20,000 passengers were affected by flight cancellations, delays and rerouting.
The Mexican capital is experiencing one of its heaviest rainy seasons in years, leading to constant flooding in other parts of the city.
Passengers have reported numerous cancellations and delays this week as heavy rains fall on the capital.
Alicia Nicanor, 69, said her Sunday flight to the northern city of Tijuana was cancelled, and when she returned Tuesday morning for her early morning flight, it was also cancelled.
“I told them I have to go because I have an important appointment with my doctor, but they didn’t listen,” she said.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said heavy rains on Sunday flooded the city’s main plaza, known as the Zocalo, with more than 76mm (3 inches) of water, much of which poured down in just 20 minutes. It broke a record set in 1952.
Meanwhile, videos from the city’s south showed cars floating on flooded streets. The flooding has fuelled criticism by some in the capital, who call it a sign of larger infrastructure failures by the city’s government.
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