44 FLIGHTS CANCELLED DUE TO FOG

44 FLIGHTS CANCELLED DUE TO FOG

Air traffic at Indira Gandhi International Airport here was thrown out of gear on Friday,30^th December,2011, with almost no flight operations for seven hours till noon due to unprecedented fog. Forty-four flights, including four international flights, were cancelled and 283 delayed till late in the afternoon. The airport witnessed the season's densest fog so far on Friday, with visibility at runways 28/10 and 29/11 being reduced to below 50 metres, the prescribed minimal for flying in CAT-III B conditions, from 4-30 a.m. to 10-30 a.m. bringing operations to a complete standstill.  The adverse weather conditions forced cancellation of 25 departing flights, including two international ones, and 19 flights arriving at the airport till 2-30 p.m.

Also, 107 domestic and 41 international flights scheduled to depart from IGI were delayed by several hours. Bedsides, 76 domestic and 59 international flights reaching the airport were also delayed. Thirty flights, including 11 international ones, were diverted till 2-30 p.m. The fog began to descend at the airport late on Thursday evening itself, forcing the airport authorities to put low-visibility procedures in place for runway 29/11 at 9-25 p.m. and the situation worsened with the passage of time necessitating similar arrangements for 28/10 at 1-12 a.m. But the situation went out of control around 4-30 a.m. with visibility on the two runways reducing to below 50 m at 4-30 a.m. “The situation improved slightly after 10-30 a.m., but the backlog and cancellation affected almost every flight operating to and from Delhi,” said an airport official.

A Central Industrial Security Force officer said there was complete chaos in the morning with hundreds of passengers and their relatives thronging the airport. Stranded at the airport due to the delay, Amit Madholia, who was to board an Air India flight to Lucknow, said: “I have come from Rohtak and my flight to Lucknow was originally scheduled at 11-45 a.m. But it was on reaching the airport around 9 a.m. that I got to know that it has been rescheduled for 6-15 p.m. Now I am left with no choice but to wait till the evening. It is a sheer waste of time.” The holiday plans of Vikas Goel and his family were ruined due to cancellation of their flight. “I had planned to celebrate New Year's Eve with my close friend and his family in Mumbai and all preparations were made. But the last-minute cancellation of the flight poured cold water over our plans. It feels so bad,” said Mr. Goel, a resident of Gurgaon.

Delhi International Airport CEO I. Prabhakara Rao, however, claimed that the terminals accommodated the extra passenger load without any difficulty and all services, such as food and beverages, housekeeping and maintenance, were up to the mark. “IGIA is fully geared to face the fog both in terms of terminal and airside capability. New facilities like snooze pads, reclining chairs, transit hotel and extra seating offered comfort to passengers,” said Mr. Rao. The situation might be no better on Saturday with the Meteorological Department forecasting visibility to be below 50 min the early hours. Northern Railway also extended cancellation of 23 trains and partial cancellation of seven trains till January 10 due to foggy conditions. These trains were earlier cancelled till December 31. 

                                                                 Prof. John Kurakar