Heavy fog and poor visibility forced the Biju Patnaik International Airport authorities here to divert three flights to Kolkata for landing on Monday for the first time this winter. The scheduled flights had to be diverted as the visibility remained below the prescribed manual, said Airport Director Sharad Kumar. Safe landing is possible only if the visibility at the airport is more than 800 metres, he said.
While the Delhi-Port Blair via Bhubaneswar flight, a GoAir flight and an IndiGo flight were diverted to Kolkata in the morning, they returned and landed at the city airport after around two hours when the weather conditions improved.
Normal life was also affected due to heavy foggy condition in the capital city while coastal districts of the State are yet to experience winter as the temperature is still recorded more than normal there. Meanwhile, local meteorological centre informed that such weather conditions would continue till December 15.