Delhi airport sees chaos amidst thick fog. 10 flights diverted, over 100 delayed and some cancelled

As the national capital experiencing severe cold, reaching the lowest minimum temperature of the winter season on Sunday, and low visibility due to dense fog conditions, authorities at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) diverted 10 flights and delayed nearly 100, besides cancelling several.

Delhi airport officials, as reported by news agency PTI, indicated that a total of 10 flights, including 2 international flights, were diverted to Jaipur between 4.30 am and 12 noon. Nearly 100 flights, including overseas services, were delayed, and some of the flights were cancelled due to the bad weather, the officials added.

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Visibility at Indira Gandhi International Airport was nearly zero between 4 am and 10 am, resulting in no flight departures and only 15 arrivals during that period, PTI report further said citing sources. Under normal weather conditions, the airport manages around 60 departures and arrivals per hour.

Fog to prevail for next three to four days

As bone-chilling temperatures persist, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert predicting that a dense fog is likely to endure in isolated pockets of northwest India for the next three to four days

“Very dense fog layer extends over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, North Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Passengers on highways need to drive extremely carefully and only with fog lights," the IMD posted from its X handle.

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The weather department said that this season's dense fog was the longest duration experienced so far.

IndiGo Airlines released an official statement acknowledging the impact of low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India on their flight operations on Sunday. “Due to the low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India, IndiGo flight operations were impacted on January 14, 2024. This had a cascading effect on our operations throughout the day. Our staff kept passengers apprised of all delays and cancellations across airports and made every possible effort to facilitate the passengers. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers," the airline said.

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Passengers experienced prolonged waiting times on the aircraft before deboarding. A passenger told Republic TV that her IndiGo Airlines flight to Dublin was scheduled to take off at 6 am, but later it got cancelled and passengers were made to board and sit inside the aircraft for over five hours.

“Chaos at T3 Airport in New Delhi as many flights cancelled due to fog. Especially very bad management by Air India staff. Strange to notice Vistara handling passengers much better than Air India and Indigo," posted an X user.

Rajesh Kalra, another X user, shared a long post regarding thechaotic condition at IGI.

“At Delhi airport, waiting to board, as and when it happens. This morning’s dense fog means it’s chaotic, and that’s an understatement. Seen sloganeering at least 5 different gates… One surely understands that cancellations and delays and diversions, apart from being an inconvenience, are extremely annoying for the passengers."