NEW DELHI: Flight operations at the Delhi airport were disrupted for nearly two hours on Tuesday morning due to dense fog, while a few trains were either cancelled or delayed. All departures were stopped at 7.15 am and were resumed only at 9:16 am at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. The IGI airport, the busiest in India, on an average sees more than 70 flight movements per hour.
Airport officials said since the Low Visibility Take Off (LVTO) requirement was not fulfilled during the two hour period, departure of flights were on hold. As per the existing norms, a minimum visibility of 125 m is needed for take-off. Arrivals of flights were not affected as the minimum visibility needed for them is 50 m.
Officials added that three international and one domestic flight were diverted due to poor visibility. Private airline carrier Jet Airways at 8.15 am tweeted, “due to adverse weather conditions (fog) at #Delhi, few of our flights have been affected.”
At least four trains were cancelled and 12 delayed due to heavy fog in several parts of northern India, railway officials said. According to the Northern Railway, four trains from New Delhi, including Mahabodhi Express, Gomti Express, Hari Har Express and Anand Vihar-Sealdah Express, were cancelled and another 12 trains got delayed. Earlier, the Northern Railways had cancelled 48 trains between December 2018 and February 2019, while reducing the frequency of 20 trains.Several parts of Delhi and other northern states were engulfed in thick fog on Tuesday morning. Commercial activities are already on hold in the city for three days.
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