Delhi airport says 30 flights delayed as dense fog brings down visibility

The Delhi airport on Tuesday alerted passengers of flight delays as dense fog continued to hover over the national capital for the third consecutive day, bringing down the visibility to nearly zero.

According to the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System data, the Indira Gandhi International or IGI airport is experiencing delays in both arrivals and departures for about 30 flights.

“Delhi airport is experiencing delays in both arrivals and departures for about 30 flights, including international, due to dense fog,” airport officials said in a statement.

The Delhi airport also issued an advisory for passengers saying while the landing and takeoffs continue at the airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may be affected. The CAT III instrument is an anti-fog landing system initiated during poor visibility.

“While landing and take-offs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the Delhi airport’s advisory read.

Earlier on Monday, as many as eight flights were diverted from the Delhi airport – seven to Jaipur and one to Ahmedabad. The flight diversions took place between 6 am and 9 am, officials said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the national capital is likely to experience fog till December 28. There will be foggy conditions from December 29 to December 30, and the minimum temperature is expected to dip by a few notches, the weather department said.

Meanwhile, apart from Delhi, very dense was reported in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, East Uttar Pradesh, West Madhya Pradesh and Odisha; moderate fog in isolated pockets of West Uttar Pradesh and shallow fog in isolated pockets of Chandigarh, Bihar, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tripura on Monday morning, the IMD said.