Every year, several flights in and out of Delhi get affected by fog in December and January.
With predictions of dense fog and cold wave conditions prevailing over north India for the next few days, Delhi airport is anticipating delays and disruption in services. There have been several delays and diversions of flights in Delhi over the last few days, and visibility conditions are likely to remain under normal for some more days, prompting authorities to issue warnings and alerts to passengers booked on flights out of the city.
Low visibility procedures
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) has implemented Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) due to the intense fog that has enveloped the city and affected landing conditions at the airport.
LVP are put in place to ensure that the airport is operated according to the latest lower-than-normal visibility conditions to maintain the safety of the aircraft and passengers. The airport has reported 17 delays in 2023 so far, with a few diversions to nearby alternate airports.
Last week, Delhi experienced as many as 100 flight disruptions due to fog. The current conditions have prompted the airport to issue a passenger advisory about possible service disruptions. Airlines, too, are warning passengers about the impact of the weather on flights, with IndiGo issuing a warning that flights out of Delhi to destinations including Chandigarh, Varanasi, Ranchi, and Kanpur, among others, may get affected.
The Indian Meteorological Department predicts that conditions are likely to remain the same for the next few days, adding,
“Dense to very dense fog and cold wave conditions very likely to continue over plains of northwest India including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during next 5 days.”
COVID testing facility reviewed
Meanwhile, like other international airports in the country, Delhi has also been tasked with screening passengers for COVID from some countries, including China, where cases have recently increased. This is on top of the random screening of 2% of passengers arriving from other parts of the world.
On Monday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandavia visited Delhi Airport to review the COVID testing facilities at the premises. Delhi is the busiest airport in the country and sees significant international arrivals every day.
Photo: Shutterstock
Passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand are required by the Indian Government to produce a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of the flight to India and uploaded on the Air Suvidha portal (a self-declaration form) before departure.
This is a grim reminder of what happened exactly a year ago when the Omicron variant began circulating around Christmas and New Year, affecting the travel plans of many. Thankfully, the latest COVID developments have not had an impact on airline operations so far.
Are you booked to fly in or out of Delhi in the next few days? Do let us know if fog has affected your travel plans as well.
Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- DEL/VIDP
- Country:
- India
- CEO:
- Videh Kumar Jaipuriar
- Passenger Count :
- 28,500,545 (2020)
- Runways :
- 09/27 – 2,813m (9,229ft) |10/28 – 3,810m (12,500ft) |11R/29L – 4,430m (14,534ft) |11L/29R – 4,400m (14,436ft)
- Terminals:
- Terminal 1 |Terminal 2 |Terminal 3
