Season’s heaviest fog blinds Delhi airport for hours
January 21st, 2010 - 6:44 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) Dense fog engulfed the Indira Gandhi International Airport here since Wednesday night and continued till Thursday morning, resulting in diversion and rescheduling of several international flights, an airport official said.
According to the official at Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which has developed and operates the airport, visibility at the runway dropped drastically around 9 p.m. Wednesday and was a bare 25 metres by 3 a.m. Thursday.
Low visibility conditions remained for at least 10 hours till about 7 a.m., the official said, adding that operations started normalising only after 11 a.m.
“Operations were back to normal by 11 a.m. when the visibility at the runway was 500 metres,” said the official.
However, the capital’s airspace was closed between 11.15 a.m. and 12.15 p.m. on account of rehearsals of the fly-past which forms part of the Republic Day celebration. As a result, there was no take-off and landing of flights during this period.
Delhi resident Aditya Kaul, who frequently flies to Mumbai, said the government should have postponed closure of the airport.
“As soon as the fog cleared, the airspace was closed today. The Indian Air Force could have done their rehearsals some time in the afternoon. They should also understand the plight of thousands of air passengers who get stuck due to fog,” said Kaul.
A senior official at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) described the fog as the “heaviest” this season.
“The visibility remained very poor for at least 10 hours. As most international airlines operate from Delhi airport during late night hours, these flights were the worst hit,” he said.
Till 6 a.m. Thursday, 27 flights were diverted, and 20 rescheduled while 18 were cancelled. Over 170 flights were either rescheduled, delayed or cancelled Wednesday.
“If there is dense fog and visibility drops, flights have to be either rescheduled, cancelled or diverted. This is a worldwide practice,” the AAI official said.
The Delhi airport is equipped with landing instruments — also called CAT III — to help pilots during heavy fog. But flights are not allowed to take off or land when visibility drops below 50 metres.
- Dense fog affects road, rail, air traffic (Lead) - Dec 30, 2011
- Capital shivers, fog disrupts trains, flights (Third Lead) - Dec 19, 2011
- Fog hits Delhi, disrupts flights, trains (Second Lead) - Dec 26, 2010
- Fogy morning gives way to bright day, cloudy Wednesday likely (Lead) - Feb 22, 2011
- Fog disrupts flight operations at Delhi airport (Lead) - Feb 17, 2011
- Trains, flights disrupted as fog blinds Delhi (Second Lead) - Dec 30, 2011
- No fog in Delhi, flight operations normal - Jan 28, 2010
- Fog grips Delhi; air, rail traffic hit (Lead) - Jan 20, 2012
- Dense fog engulfs capital, hits air, rail services again - Jan 27, 2010
- Patel blames heavy fog for flight delays - Dec 27, 2010
- Heavy fog disrupts flights, trains in Delhi (Lead) - Dec 26, 2010
- Fog disrupts train services in chilly Delhi (Second Lead) - Dec 20, 2011
- Flights hit as fog engulfs Delhi airport again - Jan 31, 2011
- Fog disrupts flights in Delhi - Dec 26, 2010
- Heavy fog delays flights at IGI airport (Lead) - Dec 25, 2010
Tags: aditya kaul, air passengers, airports authority of india, airports authority of india aai, airspace, delhi airport, delhi international, dense fog, indian air force, indira gandhi, indira gandhi international airport, international airlines, international airport ltd, international flights, jan 21, rehearsals, republic day, rescheduling, thursday morning, visibility conditions