As part of Republic Day safety protocols, the airspace over Delhi will remain closed from January 21, thereby adding to the winter woes the people of Delhi are already grappling with.
As part of the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued by the government on Tuesday, the airspace over Delhi will remain closed for 145 minutes everyday, from 10:20 am to 12:45 pm. These curbs come in the wake of Republic Day dress rehearsals, parade rehearsals and also the main ceremonial flypast along Kartavya Path.
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Now, with just eight days left for the closure, the airlines will land in a soup to accommodate passengers, re-route flights and/or refund people. The passengers have also been asked to re-check their flights amid cancellations or rescheduling done by airlines as part of the order.
How many flight operations will be hit?
According to a report by Hindustan Times, data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, informed that more than 600 flights will be affected.
Moreover, this is a peak travel time for Delhi, with many inbound flights from around the country aligning with the afternoon wave of outbound flights from Delhi to Europe and to various other cities within India. Additionally, many passengers will have to deal with daily flight disruptions (cancellations, schedule changes) due to this increase in traffic.
Why is closure necessary?
Comprehensive closure of airspace for security purposes is necessary to provide for the safety and security of all aircraft conducting a flypast and for the protection of dignitaries during Republic Day celebrations.
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Flights impacted may not be cancelled, but they will have a shift in scheduled departure. Passengers who miss their original flight will either be placed on alternative flights at different times or re-routed to alternate destinations. However, as the period of airspace closures overlaps with Delhi's fog season, if there is reduced visibility on any day, there may be chaos in attempting to accommodate the volume of flights and passengers within an even more compressed operational time frame.
