BHUBANESWAR: Flight operations were delayed at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar on Friday morning because of poor visibility due to dense fog conditions.
BPIA officials said the IndiGo flight en route from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar was diverted to Raipur due to poor visibility. The visibility was 150 metres at 9 am and 500 metres half an hour later.
"First flight from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar landed at 9.27 am after the visibility improved. As instrument landing system is already installed in the airport, pilots can land the planes when the visibility is up to 800 metres as against the normal visibility of 1.5 km," BPIA Director Pravat Ranjan Beuria told TNIE.
However, pilots of small aircraft, on their own discretion, can land even if the visibility is less than 800 metre.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), very dense fog condition is when the visibility is below 50 metres and during dense fog when the visibility is between 50 metres and 200 metres.
"On Friday morning, dense fog prevailed in the capital and very dense fog occurred in Angul. The fog condition is prevailing due to clear sky conditions, calm winds and moisture availability," said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Scientist, Umasankar Das.
Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast shallow to moderate fog at one or two places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Boudh, Angul, Sonepur and Balangir districts on Friday night and Saturday morning.