As fog continues to blanket Delhi and other parts of India with low visibility impacting flight operations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United States, on Friday categorised as “red” flight timings at Indian airports.
Eight flights from the Indira Gandhi International Airport were cancelled, leaving passengers in the lurch.
The Delhi International Airport limited (DIAl) said more than 60 flights were delayed and diverted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. “New Delhi experienced a thick blanket of fog. At 8.30 am, visibility at Palam area was less than 50 metres and at Safdarjung was 300 metres. This improved to 600 and 800 metres by 11 am,” said an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
According to FAA, the excessive delay rate was “five” while the visibility was one mile barely. In weather conditions, the airport was tagged under “smoky” status. Around 24 Asian airports come under the FAA regular observation on flight operations.
Other prominent airports of India, like Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, were also categorised under “excessive delay” by the FAA. Its visibility was only two miles.
Comparatively, the neighbouring airport at the Beijing Capital International Airport has improved the flight timings. The FAA has rated the excessive delay at “two” while the Flight Delay Index (FDI) has been marked with “low delay” status. The visibility was recorded six miles. The Shanghai airport received a “significant delay” status with the delay rate at “3.25”.
Meanwhile, Bangkok’s Survarnabhumi airport has come under “moderate” FDI status as the flight delay rate was 2.50. In Kuala lumpur International Airport, the visibility was six miles. The delay rate was 0.75.
While speaking to The Pioneer, Group Captain of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) RK Vishan said, “The sky will remain clear, however, moderate or dense fog can be witnessed in wee hours of Saturday. The maximum temperature would be around 25 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature will remain at 11 degrees Celsius.”
Dense fog engulfed the National Capital Region (NCR) limiting the visibility to less than 50 metres at some places, affecting the transport services. Over 70 trains were running behind schedule and at least 12 were rescheduled.
“The entire North India was affected by heavy fog on Friday. Magadh Express is running 25 hours behind the schedule and Seemanchal Express is running late by 20 hours,” said an official from the Indian Northern Railways.