Fog disrupts 24 flights at KIA

Twenty-four flights were disrupted as early morning fog played havoc with the travel plans of hundreds of passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here on Monday.

Although there were no departure delays, the arrival of 20 flights was delayed by nearly two hours. As thick fog enveloped the airport and the surrounding airfield, visibility dropped to near zero. No flights landed between 4.46 am and 6.24 am, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) officials said.

Four flights were diverted to different destinations. While three IndiGo flights from Delhi, Jaipur and Singapore were diverted to Hyderabad, a flight from Kochi was asked to return to its origin.

The visibility standby declared at 4.35 am, was withdrawn only at 10.05 am. The standby is declared when the visibility goes below 2,500 metres.

BIAL had recently announced that all fog-related delays would be history once the second runway becomes operational in October this year. After the new runway stabilises, the existing runway will be closed for an upgrade. A Category-IIIB Instrument Landing System (ILS) upgrade for the runway is also in the pipeline.