 "Fog impact: Give real-time update on flight delays, DGCA tells airlines")
India’s aviation regulator on Monday asked airlines to give real-time updates on flight delays, as it issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) in the wake of severe disruptions caused by fog since Sunday morning and flared tempers among passengers.
Earlier, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia posted on X that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would release an SOP for airlines to enhance “communication and facilitation” for passengers who had been affected by flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather conditions.
On Sunday, a passenger on-board an IndiGo flight (6E2175) physically assaulted a pilot who was making an announcement about a delayed takeoff due to fog in Delhi. The video of the incident went viral. Scindia termed such behaviour on the part of passengers as “unacceptable”.
On Sunday, a large number of flights operating to and from Delhi were disrupted. As many as 926 flights were delayed and 129 cancelled amid dense fog, according to flightradar24.com. The situation persisted on Monday (see chart).
In the SOP, the DGCA has asked airlines to cancel flights that are anticipated to be delayed or are delayed for more than three hours on account of fog or other adverse weather conditions. This will help obviate “congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience”, it noted.
The regulator has also asked airlines to publish real-time information on flight delays on their websites and provide advance information to passengers via SMS, WhatsApp and email.
It has also asked airlines to sensitise their airport staff to “suitably communicate with and continuously guide and inform the passengers about flight delays”.
More From This Section
Scindia has also asked the GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which runs the airport in the national capital, to expedite refurbishment of its fourth runway. The Runway 28/10 has been closed for renovation since mid-September. It is the second runway at Delhi airport that is equipped with the CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS), which can guide a CAT-III-proficient pilot during the aircraft’s descent and landing when visibility is as low as 50 metres.
The authorities were compelled to shut down operations even on CAT-III runways (which cannot handle zero-visibility operations). “The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem,” Scindia said.
“It is my earnest request to all travellers to bear with us during this difficult period. All stakeholders are trying their best to minimise passenger inconvenience. Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions,” he added.
In a statement in response to the incident on Sunday, IndiGo said that the guilty passenger was declared unruly and “handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action”. The assault was referred to an independent internal committee for appropriate action and to add the passenger on a “no-fly list” as laid down in regulatory guidelines. “The safety and security of our passengers and crew are of paramount importance, and we maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any such unacceptable behaviour,” the airline added.
On January 4, the DGCA had issued show cause notices to Air India and SpiceJet for failing to ensure that only adequately trained pilots were deployed for landings in Delhi during the foggy months of December and January.
Flight operations in Delhi were also hit between December 24 and 28 due to low visibility. Hundreds of flights were then delayed, of which 58 had to be diverted to nearby airports.