“Currently, 27 flights have been canceled, comprising 16 departures and 11 arrivals, at Delhi Airport due to the dense fog and low visibility,” the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) official stated.
In a passenger advisory released Thursday morning, DIAL indicated that owing to the dense fog, “flight operations are presently under CAT-III conditions, which may result in delays or disruptions.” For such operations, both pilot training and aircraft compliance are essential.
CAT-III denotes a type of instrument landing system (ILS) approach enabling aircraft to land under very low visibility conditions, including fog, rain, or snow, with a runway visual range (RVR) of 50-200 meters.
On December 26, low visibility impacted flight operations at Delhi Airport, causing airlines to cancel 131 flights, according to a DIAL official.
“Due to low visibility, 52 departures and 79 arrivals were canceled…” the official remarked.
The northern regions of India, including Air India’s main hub in Delhi, often face low visibility due to thick fog, potentially affecting flight schedules across the network.
The aviation regulator DGCA has designated December 10 to February 10 of the following year as the official fog window for this winter. In a related note, the struggling IndiGo airline canceled 113 flights across its network due to weather-related disruptions at Delhi Airport on Tuesday.
Additionally, the airline announced it would not operate 42 flights on Wednesday due to bad weather at Delhi Airport. As winter sets in, early mornings across northern India can bring fog that may occasionally hinder flight operations, IndiGo stated in a post on X.
“Our teams are well prepared and are closely monitoring weather conditions,” IndiGo mentioned, adding that wherever feasible, “we are making careful adjustments on the ground to minimize inconvenience and ensure that any waiting time is as comfortable as possible.”
