Dense fog enveloped the national capital and vast swathes of North India on Monday, causing massive disruptions to air and rail travel. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed, while trains ran several hours behind schedule, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and frustrated.
Airport Operations Grind to a Halt
The severe weather had a crippling effect on air travel. At Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, operations were severely hampered as visibility plummeted to as low as 50 metres. This forced the airport to operate under CAT III conditions, an advanced instrument landing system for low visibility.
According to data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24, a total of 128 flights were cancelled – evenly split between 64 departures and 64 arrivals. Additionally, eight flights were diverted to other airports, and nearly 200 flights faced delays. The average departure delay was reported to be around 24 minutes.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) stated that runway visibility was improving gradually but warned that flight schedules would remain affected. The air quality also deteriorated sharply, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing 400, placing it in the 'severe' pollution category.
Widespread Airline Disruptions and Rail Network Paralysis
The impact was not confined to Delhi alone. Major airline IndiGo cancelled 80 flights across its network due to the bad weather, with approximately half of those cancellations occurring at Delhi airport. Other airports experiencing significant disruptions included Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Amritsar, among others.
IndiGo, in a post on social media platform X, advised passengers that "fog continues to persist across Delhi and several airports in northern India" and that flight movements were slower than normal. Airlines have been mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deploy CAT-IIIB compliant aircraft and trained pilots during the official fog season from December 10 to February 10.
The rail network faced equal chaos. Major stations like New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin saw multiple trains delayed by hours. Passengers voiced their anguish, with one traveller, Gagan, reporting an eight-hour delay on his journey to Kanpur. Students expressed worries about missing crucial exams and connections due to the prolonged hold-ups.
Passenger Woes and Safety Concerns Mount
The cascading effects of the fog were felt widely. Taxi drivers at railway stations reported a significant loss of business as the flow of passengers dwindled with delayed trains. On the roads, commuters raised serious safety concerns, warning of heightened risks of accidents due to severely compromised visibility.
Even Mumbai experienced reduced visibility due to smog, adding to the travel troubles in different parts of the country. Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, urged passengers to check their flight status regularly and reiterated that passenger safety remained their utmost priority as they navigated the challenging weather conditions.
