At least 128 flights have been cancelled and eight flights have been diverted, while Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport is experiencing zero visibility in the form of dense fog, which has further led to a notification being put out by the authorities that low visibility procedures are operational for flights. The airport is currently operating in Category-III conditions, which means flights are able to perform landing even when visibility is low.
Airlines issue advisory:
IndiGo, through a travel advisory, stated that the company has been closely monitoring the situation and has adjusted operations accordingly to ensure that flights are going smoothly.
“Delhi and Hindon (Airport) remain enveloped in a layer of cold winter air and lingering fog this morning. The airlines’ flights operate on the dynamic visibility, and the process may be slower than normal. On-ground teams remain dedicated to prioritizing safety and visibility parameters. If the flight is affected, the convenience for rescheduling the flight or seeking a refund can be accessed through the process described at https://goindigo.in/plan-b.html”, IndiGo airline declared.
Also, support teams of ours are ready to help should you need assistance when at the airport. As the weather clears, everything should fall into place and flights should take off as scheduled. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” they wrote.
Approximately 65% of flights are reported to be running late from the IGI Airport. A large number of flight cancellations have also been estimated to be following. Some of the recent flight diversions include the landing of the Air India Express flight, which had departed from Goa, in Ahmedabad. It had swelling landing points in Delhi and fog in Jaipur.
The fog should clear slowly, with visibility increasing to 100 meters by 8:30 am and to 1,000 meters by 1:30 pm. Airline operators, in the meantime, are doing their best to minimize disruption to passengers.
Fog blankets capital city
Delhi began the day with cool weather and dense fog on Monday, resulting in low visibility. Many people kept their lights on, making it inconvenient for the residents as well. The temperature in the city remained around 22.5°C. Poor visibility influenced air traffic as well; several delayed flights were seen at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI).
In the midst of thick fog that blankets the entire city, the low-cost Indian domestic airline Indigo has issued an advisory that because of poor visibility, flight timings have been affected and flights will move considerably slower than usual. Moreover, the air quality in the city has continued to worsen this morning, with the Air Quality Index having touched 402 at 8:00 am, settling into the ‘severe’ category, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board.
According to the CPCB, some areas have shown poor air quality with AQI levels above 400. Anand Vihar’s air quality is 455, and Bawana is 411. Some other areas of the capital have also shown severe levels of pollution. Some of these areas include Wazirpur, with air quality of 443; Rohini, with air quality of 442; Punjabi Bagh, with air quality of 426; and Patparganj, with air quality of 431.
