By MARTÍN SILVA REY
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Torrential rains forced Mexico City’s main airport to shut down flights for hours on a second consecutive day Tuesday, causing chaos in one of Latin America’s busiest travel hubs.
The Mexican capital is seeing one of its heaviest rainy seasons in years, leading to constant flooding in other parts of the city.
Airport authorities said all runways were operating again by midday, after all flights were suspended for at least four hours early Tuesday.
Around 20,000 passengers were affected by flight cancellations, delays and rerouting.
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 Zócalo, with more than 3 inches, 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 fueled criticism by some in the capital, who call them a sign of larger infrastructure failures by the city’s government.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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