Low visibility hit operations at Delhi Airport, 131 flights cancelled

New Delhi: Low visibility conditions disrupted flight operations at Delhi airport on Tuesday, leading to airlines cancelling 131 flights, a Delhi International Airport Ltd official said.

"Due to low visibility, 52 departures and 79 arrivals have been cancelled so far at Delhi airport," the official said.

PSU Watch is now on Whatsapp Channels. Click here to join

The northern parts of India, including Air India's primary hub Delhi, experience low visibility due to dense fog with a potential to have a cascading impact on flight schedule across the network.

Aviation regulator DGCA has announced December 10- February 10 next year as the official fog window during this winter.

In a related development, crisis-hit IndiGo cancelled 113 flights across its network due to disruptions caused by bad weather at Delhi airport on Tuesday.

Besides, the airline also said it will not operate 42 flights on Wednesday on account of bad weather at Delhi airport.

As winter sets in, early mornings across northern India can bring fog that may occasionally slow down flight movements, IndiGo said in a post on X.

"Our teams are well prepared and closely monitoring weather conditions", IndiGo said, adding that wherever possible, "we are making thoughtful adjustments on the ground to reduce inconvenience and ensure any waiting time is as comfortable as possible.

As part of the fog operations (CAT-111b) norms, Airlines have to mandatorily roster crew, which is trained to operate in low-visibility conditions, as well as aircraft compliant for such operations.

Category-III is an advanced navigation system that empowers an aircraft to land under foggy conditions. Category-III-A is a precision instrument approach and landing that enables a plane to land with a runway visual range (RVR) of 200 meters, while Category-III-B helps in landing with an RVR of under 50 metres.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)