Dense Fog Disrupts Over 100 Flights At Delhi Airport, Adds To Congestion Woes

Delhi airport has seen massive disruptions in flight departures over the last three days due to fog-induced low visibility. The delays and diversions have added to the congestion chaos.

Commuters slowly drive to a Delhi Airport terminal through the dense fog on December 27The visibility levels at Palam and Safdarjung airport were recorded at 50 metres at 8.30am on Tuesday.

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The severe cold wave and fog amid the bone-chilling winter this year has resulted in disruption of flights across the nation. In Delhi alone, 100 flights have been disrupted over three days while several had to be diverted to nearby airports, reported news agency ANI. 

A Delhi airport official: “Due to bad weather [fog] for three days, over 100 flights are reported delayed from and to Delhi airport, some have also been diverted to the nearest airport.” 

The disruptions have added to the year-end holiday congestion woes of the Delhi airport authorities. Over the past few weeks, the Delhi airport has been witnessing massive queues as the holiday season rush has got overwhelming. Now, the fog and visibility issues have compounded problems for travellers in north India. 

The official said that the reason for the delay of some flights is that the airlines haven’t been able to deploy their CAT-III-compliant pilots yet. The CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS) allows flights to land safely in low visibility. CAT III-B ILS allows aircraft to land with a runway visual range (RVR) of up to 50 m with a decision height of 15 m. Pilots are required to undergo specialised training to operate the system. 

Meanwhile, keeping the disruptions and delays in view, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) advised passengers on Tuesday to check their flight status with the airline concerned as flight operations at Delhi airport was only for CAT-III compliant ones. 

"While landing and take-offs are continuing at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT-III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for the updated flight information," DIAL stated in a notification. 

According to the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) at Delhi airport, at least 18 flights were delayed till noon on Wednesday. Most of these aircraft were bound for other north Indian cities, However, arrivals have been on time so far. 

Delhi was not the only city affected. Flight services were also affected at West Bengal's Bagdogra airport for nearly six hours on Tuesday as dense fog reduced visibility. The disruption affected hundreds of flyers. 

Airlines like Vistara, SpiceJet, and IndiGo issued notifications to express their regret for the delays and diversions. "Early morning fog at Delhi has caused massive delays across the network. We're trying our best to minimize the inconvenience caused," IndiGo stated on Tuesday.