Mumbai, May 17 (IANS): Owing to the threats created by the raging Cyclone Tauktae, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai has shut all operations for 3 hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday.

This resulted in at least 3 in-bound flights of private airlines getting diverted to less turbulent locations. A SpiceJet service was diverted to Surat, an IndiGo flight has returned to Lucknow while another IndiGo service was diverted to Hyderabad.

An official spokesperson said that the CSMIA closure move was necessitated in view of the alerts over the Cyclone Tauktae - currently passing by Mumbai with windspeeds of 75-85 kmph - as the storm hurtles to south Gujarat.

Cyclone Tauktae hit Mumbai with full fury around after midnight of Monday (May 17) bringing with it heavy rains, thunder, lightning and powerful gales, wreaking havoc on normal life in the entire coastal region and the country's commercial capital.