Delhi airport on Saturday saw 19 flight diversions, many cancellations and over 400 flight delays as low visibility conditions due to dense fog impacted operations for the second straight day, reducing the visibility to zero in several areas for an unprecedented nine-hour stretch, the longest spell of the season. “Zero visibility prevailed for nine hours at Palam between 6 pm and 3 am (UTC), marking the longest spell of the season. The city's primary weather station, Safdarjung, recorded eight hours of zero visibility, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
India's largest airline, IndiGo, temporarily halted both arrivals and departures. Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, issued travel advisories urging customers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and allow extra time for travel.
An official said 19 flights were diverted at the airport between 12.15 am and 1.30 am due to reduced visibility. Of them, 13 were domestic, four international and two non-scheduled flights. More than 45 flights were cancelled due to bad weather conditions at Delhi as well as at the destination airports, the official said.
As per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.Com, over 450 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport. “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. “Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X at 6.56 am. CAT III facility allows aircraft to operate in low-visibility conditions.
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital is operated by DIAL, handles around 1,300 flight movements daily.
“#6ETravelAdvisory: Departures and arrivals at #DelhiAirport are currently on hold due to reduced visibility,” IndiGo said in a post on X at 1.05 am on Saturday. Air India said in an update on X at 1.16 am that poor visibility due to dense fog was impacting flight operations in Delhi and parts of northern India.
A thick blanket of fog had enveloped Delhi on Friday as well, delaying more than 400 flights. In an update on X at 10.58 am, IndiGo said dense fog continued to affect visibility in Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Srinagar, Guwahati, and Patna, even during daytime. “We assure you that our teams are working diligently to assist all impacted customers, ensuring your journey resumes as soon as the weather improves,” it said in another post at 11 am.
The Northern Railway said a total of 59 trains were running late by up to six hours and 22 by around eight hours.
With the the maximum temperature in the city settled at 20 degrees Celsius, 0.7 notch above average and the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius, 0.9 notch above the normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Ayanagar recorded 7.2 degree Celsius, coldest area in the national capital.
In a related development, the air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category. Delhi's 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 378, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is despite the fact that stage three of the Graded Response Action Plan has been reinvoked in Delhi and the neighbouring states. Transport is the key source of air pollution in the national capital.
The weather department has predicted dense fog conditions likely to continue over parts of North India from late night of Saturday to morning hours of Sunday and improve thereafter.
