Domestic and international flights were disrupted at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Thursday due to bad weather and heavy downpour, officials said.

According to officials at the TIA, three Indian airliners including flights from Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara returned to Delhi Thursday due to bad weather after entering into Nepali airspace.

Bad weather also hampered domestic flights within the country.

A TIA official told Nepalnews that a total of 85 domestic flights had taken place in and out of TIA by 6 p.m. Thursday. They said nearly two dozen international flights also took place in and out of TIA today.

A senior official at the TIA hoped that the situation would return to normalcy as soon as there is an improvement in the weather.

Meanwhile, officials at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DoHM) said Thursday afternoon that Kathmandu recorded 35 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. They said sudden and heavy downpour on Thursday was due to interaction of what they said eastern airwaves on the lower part of the atmosphere and western airwaves on the upper part of the atmosphere.

They said Thursday’s downpour also signified the onset of winter season in the country.

There were reports of heavy downpour from various parts of the country. According to officials, mid-western district of Dang recorded the highest 93.8 mm of rainfall over the last 24 hours while rainfall in another remote western district of Jumla stood at 82.5 mm during the same period.

The officials said there will be improvement in the weather by Saturday.