 "Delhi flights")
The dense fog, which lasted over 11 hours on Sunday, disrupted airline and rail operations in Delhi, keeping hundreds of travellers waiting for hours, according to airport officials.
Visibility fell below 200 metres at 12:30 am and remained zero for about seven and a half hours between 3 am and 10:30 am, causing around 400 flights to be delayed, ten diverted, and at least 20 cancelled, officials said.
The cascading effect of delays continued till the evening even though sunlight improved visibility for five hours, from 12 pm to 5 pm.
This was also the worst fog spell of the year for transit operations, with 10 diversions to Jaipur airport due to poor visibility. "There were ten flights diverted at the airport. This occurred between 4:30 am and noon," an airport official was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times (HT).
Though there was no official confirmation of the number of delayed flights, the Delhi airport's website showed that around 200 flights were delayed throughout the day. The website also showed at least 10 cancellations.
How low visibility grounds flights?
The airport initiates low visibility procedures (LVP) — measures aimed at making landing for flights easier — when visibility dips below 800 metres.
During this period, CAT-I procedures, which are the most basic set of precautions in place to guide pilots in landing, are in place. Only flights and pilots that are CAT-II compliant are allowed to land when visibility is less than 550 metres. At the same time, CAT-IIIA pilots can land when visibility is between 175 and 300 metres. The most stringent qualification is CAT-III B, which permits them to land with visibility as low as 50 meters.
While flights can still land at the airport with visibility of 50 metres, they are not permitted to depart unless the runway visibility range (RVR) is 125 metres, resulting in delays. This can cause further delays as parking spaces are taken and flights waiting to land at the airport are still in the queue.
Runway work at Delhi airport hit flights
Flight operations were also delayed by ongoing runway maintenance work. Three of the airport's four runways have been operational since August 2023, and repairs have been underway at runway 28/10 for the last four months.
Two of the three runways are capable of handling CAT 3 landings and takeoffs. In some situations, flights are diverted because an airline's pilot is not CAT 3 compliant.
Among the flights delayed included a special IndiGo flight on which Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were to travel to Imphal to kick-start the "Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra". Visuals emerged of the leaders waiting at the airport as visibility remained below 200 metres till 11.30 am.
#WATCH | A special IndiGo flight through which Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi were to travel to Imphal for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is delayed at the Delhi airport.
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2024
The Congress leaders have not yet boarded the flight and are waiting in the airport lounge. pic.twitter.com/9GLqr0CRUo
The airline said in a statement: "Due to the low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India, IndiGo flight operations were impacted on Jan 14, 2024. This had a cascading effect on our operations throughout the day. Our staff kept passengers apprised of all delays and cancellations across airports and made every possible effort to facilitate the passengers. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers."
Frustrated flyers flood social media over delay
Passengers also took to social media to express their frustration. "Being stranded here for more than seven hours, our flights being cancelled, our luggages are lost. You call this the country's capital?" wrote one user.
Being stranded here for more than 7+ hours, our flights being cancelled, our luggages are lost. You Call this the country’s capital?
— Allwin (@beingAllz) January 14, 2024
Shame. #DelhiAirport #mess #stampede #chaos pic.twitter.com/wmFK4v2u5W
Meanwhile, a passenger, identified as Sahil Kataria, punched an IndiGo pilot when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A purported video of the incident, which took place Sunday evening, has also gone viral on social media.
Not going to lie - expected this to happen. Did not know it would happen so soon.
— Ravi Handa (@ravihanda) January 15, 2024
Context: a passenger punched an Indigo pilot because the flight was delayed.
And since there are no strong laws in India to prevent this, it will happen again. pic.twitter.com/P3bnTSGAGD
A case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the Indian Penal Code and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules has been registered against the passenger and investigation taken up, said a police officer.
Meanwhile, IndiGo Airlines formed an internal committee on Monday to address the matter, news agency ANI reported.
Delhi airport issues advisory
The Delhi airport also issued an advisory for passengers, requesting that they contact airlines before travelling.
"Due to dense fog, flight operations at Delhi Airport may be affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information," said the airport authority.
"Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," it added.
