Flights clubbed as fliers stay away

New Delhi: Foggy conditions wreaked havoc at the IGI airport for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday. Air services were disrupted from late Saturday night to early Sunday when visibility dropped to around 300 meters following which low visibility procedures were implemented. Airport sources said 17 domestic and international flights were cancelled and another 10 were diverted between 12.20 am and 5.34 am.
Despite disruption in air traffic movement, airport officials said they had been prepared for thicker fog on Saturday. "We have had more fog in the last few days when the visibility dropped to as low as 75 m. So, in comparison, Sunday morning's fog was not as bad as we had aniticipated. The lowest visibility was about 400 m but after 6 am, the visibility improved and operations were almost normald,'' said an official. Sources said the congestion at the airport wasn't so bad because it was a Sunday and on the prediction of heavy fog, some airlines had rescheduled/combined or cancelled flights. Also both the runways were in use since morning, there wasn't too much chaos.
Moreover, passenger load was not very high on Sunday and officials attributed this to the chaos at IGI on Saturday where several flights were delayed or cancelled in one of the season's worst fogs. After the Met's prediction of heavy fog on Sunday also, many passengers opted to either postpone their trips or cancel it rather than get stuck for long hours in the cramped IGI terminal. Many airlines merged their flights due to low passenger load and in anticipation of fog.
Over 600 flights were delayed and about 100 cancelled this week due to dense fog that has been enveloping the national capital almost every day.
05/01/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009