Dense fog, poor visibility disrupts flight operations at Delhi airport

Dense fog enveloped several parts of the national capital, leading to disruption in flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Arrivals and departures have largely been put on hold at the IGI airport. Two flights were also diverted between 5.30 AM and 8.30 AM.

"Flight operations have largely been put on hold. Very few aircraft are departing and that too on the basis of their size, visibility and ATC (air traffic control) clearance for taking off," an airport official said.

According to the official, departures were completely put on hold from 5.30 AM to 7 AM and arrivals happened only intermittently in between 6 AM to 7.20 AM. Departures were not allowed even after 7 AM due to dense fog.

One of the flights diverted from the IGI airport was coming from Singapore. It was diverted to Kolkata, he said.

 

#TravelUpdate Due to dense fog in Delhi and Bangalore, flight delays are expected for both arrivals and departures with likely consequential impact on flights across network. pic.twitter.com/Wy0eCgAww2

— Vistara (@airvistara) January 18, 2019

At Delhi, the minimum runway visibility required for take off is 125 metres.

#Update1 Due to dense fog and poor visibility in Delhi,delays are expected for both arrivals and departures with likely consequential impact on flights across network. Currently, flight departures from Delhi are on hold and will resume by 0930 hrs subject to weather clearance.1/2

— Vistara (@airvistara) January 18, 2019

The Delhi airport was facing low visibility conditions since 4 AM Friday due to dense fog, the official said.

Vistara Airlines tweeted at 8.23 AM on Friday that "due to dense fog and poor visibility in Delhi, delays are expected for both arrivals and departures with likely consequential impact on flights across the network".

#Update2 For flights that have no revised expected time of departure yet and customers not boarded or boarded but door not closed, we will do our best to assist those who no longer want to travel. 1/2

— Vistara (@airvistara) January 18, 2019

"Currently, flight departures from Delhi are on hold and will resume by 0930 hrs subject to weather clearance," it added.

#9Wupdate: Due to adverse weather conditions (fog) at #Bengaluru and #Delhi, some of our flights have been affected.

For real-time flight status follow: (link: https://t.co/aT3wpZexyr ) pic.twitter.com/abzc193O2L

— Jet Airways (@jetairways) January 18, 2019

Jet Airways also tweeted on 6.33 AM that some of its flights have been affected as there is dense fog at Delhi airport as well as Bengaluru airport.