Dense fog with zero visibility affected airline and train services in the Delhi NCR region on Monday morning. A total of 128 flights were cancelled, and eight others were diverted at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi. The weather conditions turned dense as the visibility reduced significantly in the early morning hours.
At 10:30 am, according to data from FlightRadar24, there were a total of 178 departed flights and 69 arrivals that experienced delays, contributing further to passenger woes in this busiest airport in the country.
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CATIII procedures at the IGI Airport
The flights at the IGI Airport were operating under CAT III conditions, which enable planes to land safely in low visibility conditions. The management of the airport confirmed that the low visibility procedures were in place and warned all passengers of possible delays and cancellations.
“Flight operations are currently being conducted under CAT III conditions due to dense fog, which may result in delays or cancellations. Our ground teams are on-site and actively assisting passengers to ensure a smooth travel experience. For the latest flight updates, please contact your respective airlines”, Delhi Airport shared this information on the social media site X on Monday.
Airlines provide travel advisories
Some airlines released alerts for passengers to check the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport. IndiGo Airlines revealed that the varying levels of visibility in Delhi were impacting the airline's operations from both the Delhi airports and the Hindon airports.
“Once the weather settles, operations will gradually stabilise, and flights will depart as planned. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon,” read a tweet from airline IndiGo.
Air India, which had issued an advisory last evening, had warned passengers about the possibility of delays because of the foggy weather. “If you are flying with us tomorrow, we encourage you to check your flight status here before heading to the airport and allow extra time for your journey,” the airline had advised.
SpiceJet has also appealed to passengers to come early for their journeys as poor visibility is expected to affect normal air operation processes.
Rail services impacted in North Indian cities
The thick fog has also disrupted the railway services. Certain trains are running late because of the poor visibility that prevailed in vast areas of North India.
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Weather forecast for North India
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog at some places in North India in the coming days. The national capital and some other places in North India are expected to experience dense to very dense fog in the nights and early mornings of these days till December 31, whereas East Uttar Pradesh will have reduced visibility till January 1.
An orange alert has been sounded for Delhi on December 29. The maximum temperature is set to remain in the vicinity of 22 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature may go as low as 7 degrees Celsius.
