Dense Fog Shrouds North India, Several Flights Affected Due to Poor Visibility

Dense fog enveloped northern India bringing visibility down to zero and disrupting flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The fog has disrupted SpiceJet flights scheduled for tomorrow (December 28) in major cities like New Delhi, Amritsar, Varanasi, Dharamshala, Jaipur, and Kolkata. Officials from the airline asked passengers to keep a check on their flight status.

Dense fog has already set in over some pockets of Delhi including at IGI Airport Palam. A couple of flights at IGI are behind their schedule.

While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.

Indira Gandhi International Airport has initiated the Low Visibility Procedures.

Vistara diverted flight UK716 from Patna to Delhi (PAT-DEL) to Indore due to bad weather at Delhi airport. Another flight of Vistara UK820 Bengaluru to Delhi was also diverted to Indore. So far at least 6 flights of the airlines are diverted due to dense fog in Delhi.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted dense to very dense fog conditions in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi till January 1.

States like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura will likely continue to have dense fog till December 31.

Over 110 flights were delayed due to fog at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in the early hours on Wednesday. Meanwhile four flights, including three of SpiceJet and one of Air India were diverted to Jaipur between 9 am and 12 pm.

While, more than 25 trains approaching Delhi or passing through Delhi stations are running late due to the dense fog.

In view of the foggy conditions over northwest and adjoining central India, authorities have suggested necessary actions to be taken by particular departments to ensure smooth operations.

Meanwhile, more than 120 flights at Delhi Airport witnessed delays due to bad weather conditions on Tuesday, affecting 55 domestic and 17 international departures. The service was also disrupted at 39 domestic and 12 international arrivals as well.

FOGCARE INITIATIVE

Air India has allowed flyers to and from Delhi IGI Airport to reschedule or cancel their bookings without paying additional costs.

The advantage can be taken when the flight is likely to be affected by major fog delays. The decision was taken under the FogCare initiative, which was introduced last winter, granting power to affected passengers to control their booking or tickets at no extra cost.