Chennai: Foggy weather is making airlines spend more on fuel when bookings are low on morning flights on the Chennai-Delhi route. People have started avoiding morning flights to Delhi because they don't want to get caught in delays and diversions.
Airlines suffered lose when fog reduced visibility at Delhi, Jaipur and Lucknow. Flights had to be diverted to Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Pilots have started carrying more fuel on Delhi flights to manage longer diversions. It's a double whammy: Diversions burn up more fuel; then, carrying more fuel than needed, for diversions, make flying less economical because of the increased weight. "DGCA's all weather operations circular which came into effect in November specifies a few changes in the fuel computation that need to be followed while making a flight plan. This comes into play when fog is worse in Delhi," said a pilot.
10/01/14 V Ayyappan/Times of India
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Airlines suffered lose when fog reduced visibility at Delhi, Jaipur and Lucknow. Flights had to be diverted to Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Pilots have started carrying more fuel on Delhi flights to manage longer diversions. It's a double whammy: Diversions burn up more fuel; then, carrying more fuel than needed, for diversions, make flying less economical because of the increased weight. "DGCA's all weather operations circular which came into effect in November specifies a few changes in the fuel computation that need to be followed while making a flight plan. This comes into play when fog is worse in Delhi," said a pilot.
10/01/14 V Ayyappan/Times of India
