Delhi gasps as AQI worsens; over 317 flights cancelled at various airports as region engulfed in thick smog

NEW DELHI: Dense fog for five hours early Monday morning in New Delhi disrupted flight operations completely. A total of 228 domestic flights, 131 departures and 97 arrivals, were cancelled up to 9 pm at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) alone due to low visibility. Five flights, including two international flights, were diverted to Jaipur.  Inclusion of cancellation of connecting flights takes the figure to 317.According to an airport official, “We had dense fog between 4.30 am and 9.30 am. Hence, only two flights could take off during that period. On a normal day, we have 120 flights taking off during the 5 hours. However, the landing of flights did take place.”The runway visual range (RVR) was less than 125 metres. “As per DGCA guidelines, the minimum RVR required for airplanes to take off is 125 metres. Flights can land when there is a visibility of 100 metres, and hence most flights were able to land,” he said.There was a tense situation all around the airport as flights kept landing regularly and had to be sent to the remote bays for parking. The available bays were all occupied by flights unable to take off.Indigo announced an overall cancellation of 172 flights, all domestic ones, on its website due to the Delhi weather. Air India had cancelled around 100 flights, while Air India Express has announced that 45 flights have been impacted across its network, including of cancellation of flights connecting passengers from those destinations. Flights to and from Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Kolkata, Patnagar, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad figured among the cities where flights were cancelled.SpiceJet said two of its international flights to Delhi, one from Bangkok and another to Dubai, were diverted to Jaipur, according to its spokesperson.Akasa Air announced that two flights across its network, both from Bengaluru to Delhi (QP 1359 and QP 1811), were diverted to Jaipur. While QP 1359 reached Delhi after the diversion three hours later, QP 1811 landed four hours later. Passengers were offered full refunds for their tickets by all airlines.



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