Severe fog and overcast skies over Bihar on Tuesday morning triggered significant aviation chaos, forcing a Patna-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi to divert mid-air and disrupting nearly 50 flight movements at the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport.
Mid-Air Diversion and Widespread Cancellations
The IndiGo flight 6E-2373, en route from Delhi to Patna, had to be redirected to Raipur (RPR) due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog. This incident was just the beginning of a day-long ordeal for passengers. The adverse conditions led to a cascading effect on operations, impacting 22 arrivals and 25 departures.
Compounding the troubles, airport authorities were forced to cancel four other IndiGo flights that were scheduled during the night hours. The cancelled services included two flights to Delhi (6E-5008/2309 and 6E-6549/6550), one to Hyderabad (6E-915/6683), and one to Mumbai (6E-673/5152).
Passenger Frustration Mounts Amid Long Delays
The first successful landing of the day did not occur until late morning. An Air India flight, AI-1749 from Delhi, managed to touch down at 11:43 am, more than two hours past its scheduled arrival time of 9:40 am. This landing marked a cautious resumption of operations after initial weather-related restrictions.
Passengers, however, faced immense hardship. Rakesh Kumar, a traveller headed to Delhi, voiced the common sentiment, stating airlines were not being transparent about the scale of disruptions. He highlighted that the Patna-Delhi flight 6E-6389 was delayed for over six hours, leaving many elderly passengers stranded at the airport since morning. This flight, originally scheduled for an 11:50 am departure, finally took off at 5:09 pm.
The disruptions had wider repercussions. Haldar Nag, a Sambalpuri poet and writer from Bargah, was stranded at Jharsuguda Airport. He was travelling to Patna to attend the National Literature Festival, but the cancellation of his connecting flight via Delhi upended his plans.
Airlines Issue Advisories, Cite Seasonal Challenge
In response to the persistent fog, several airlines issued travel advisories, urging passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Officials at Patna airport attributed the widespread disruptions to seasonal dense fog, a common winter phenomenon in Bihar, which necessitates holding patterns and delayed landings for safety.
IndiGo, in a statement, acknowledged the ongoing problem: “The fog continues to linger over Ranchi, Patna, and Varanasi resulting in slower flight movements. Departures and arrivals to and from these cities, as well as certain routes across our network, may experience short delays as we work through the weather conditions.”
The event underscores the vulnerability of air travel in northern India to winter fog, causing not just inconvenience but also significant logistical and financial implications for airlines and passengers alike.
