As many as 19 international and domestic flights were delayed on Friday at the Chennai airport after visibility dropped because of smoke in the region, PTI reported. Tamil Nadu celebrated its Bhogi festival on Friday, during which bonfires are lit. Several flights from Chennai were diverted to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kochi.

Poor visibility delayed flights for more than 90 minutes, reports said. An Air India flight from Sharjah-Trivandrum-Chennai was diverted to Bengaluru, and Oman Air’s Muscat-Chennai flight was diverted to Hyderabad, The New Indian Express reported. Some flights flying in from Dubai were diverted to Kochi.

Bhogi is celebrated a day before Pongal in Tamil Nadu.