119 flights face delay as dense fog grips Delhi's IGI airport

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport experienced significant disruptions due to dense fog and adverse weather conditions on January 23rd, 2024. The airport, which typically sees around 1,200 flights take off daily, was forced to delay numerous flights, affecting both international and domestic travel schedules.

The dense fog led to reduced visibility, making it challenging for planes to taxi between the runway and terminal building and necessitating increased spacing between landing aircraft. 

Accordingly, Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System showed delays in 22 international departures, 20 international arrivals, 31 domestic arrivals, and 46 domestic departures.

.Airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet issued travel advisories, alerting passengers to potential disruptions across various cities including Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Jammu, and Agartala.

The adverse conditions highlighted the need for improved Category III (CAT III) facilities at Indian airports, which allow for landings in low visibility conditions. Currently, several airports, including Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata, and Bangalore, are equipped with CAT III technology.

However, many others are only CAT I or CAT II compliant, limiting operations during poor visibility and underscoring the urgency for a collaborative effort to enhance these capabilities nationwide.

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