HYDERABAD: Thick fog and poor visibility during the early morning hours on Friday caused widespread disruption to air and road traffic in and around Hyderabad, with 14 flights diverted and 19 cancelled at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), and traffic congestion and accidents reported on major highways.
Airport officials said 14 incoming flights to Hyderabad were diverted to Bengaluru and Chennai due to low visibility conditions. The diverted services included 8 IndiGo flights, 2 operated by Quikjet Cargo Airlines, and 1 each from Oman Air, Flynas and Blue Dart Aviation.
The affected flights also included services arriving from international destinations such as Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh, Kuwait, Dammam and Jeddah. Officials later confirmed that all diverted flights eventually returned to Hyderabad after weather conditions improved.
In addition, 19 IndiGo flights, including 10 arrivals and nine departures, were cancelled owing to the cascading impact of adverse weather. The cancellations affected connectivity with major cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Varanasi, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Patna, Guwahati and Kochi.
Flight operations were further impacted by delays, with at least nine departures from Hyderabad, including seven IndiGo and two Air India Express flights, delayed by more than two hours. The delayed flights were bound for Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Goa, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Madurai, Chennai and Tiruchirappalli.
Meanwhile, thick fog blanketed the city’s outskirts, severely disrupting road traffic on key highways. On the Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway, 4 lorries reportedly collided due to thick fog, triggering massive traffic congestion. Vehicular movement came to a standstill, with snarls stretching several kilometres between Shamshabad and Palamakula. Reduced visibility also slowed traffic on the Outer Ring Road.
Similar conditions prevailed on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, where vehicles moved at a crawl. Visibility on the Abdullapurmet-Ghatkesar bypass road was extremely poor, with vehicles barely visible even at a distance of 10 feet.
Despite sunrise, the fog remained unusually thick, adding to commuters’ woes.