“As of now, 27 flights are cancelled, 16 departures and 11 arrivals, at Delhi Airport due to dense fog and low visibility,” the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) official was quoted as saying.
In a passenger advisory Thursday morning, DIAL said due to dense fog, “flight operations are currently under CAT-III conditions, which may lead to delays or disruptions.” For this type of operation, not only should the pilots be trained, but the aircraft must also be compliant.
CAT-III refers to a type of instrument landing system (ILS) approach that allows aircraft to land in conditions of very low visibility, such as fog, rain or snow, with a runway visual range (RVR) of 50-200 meters.
On December 26, low visibility conditions disrupted flight operations at Delhi airport, leading to airlines cancelling 131 flights, a Delhi International Airport Ltd official had said.
“Due to low visibility, 52 departures and 79 arrivals were cancelled…” the official said.
Northern parts of India, including Air India’s primary hub Delhi, experience low visibility due to dense fog with a potential to have a cascading impact on flight schedule across the network.
Aviation regulator DGCA has announced December 10- February 10 next year as the official fog window during this winter. In a related development, crisis-hit IndiGo cancelled 113 flights across its network due to disruptions caused by bad weather at Delhi airport on Tuesday.
Besides, the airline also said it will not operate 42 flights on Wednesday on account of bad weather at Delhi airport. As winter sets in, early mornings across northern India can bring fog that may occasionally slow down flight movements, IndiGo said in a post on X.
“Our teams are well prepared and closely monitoring weather conditions”, IndiGo said, adding that wherever possible, “we are making thoughtful adjustments on the ground to reduce inconvenience and ensure any waiting time is as comfortable as possible.
