Low visibility leads to delays of 48 flights at Bengaluru airport. Credit: DH file photo
A total of 48 flights were delayed at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) due to low visibility caused by dense fog on Thursday.
The foggy conditions caused several delays between 4.44 am and 8 am, after overnight drizzle caused dense fog.
The 48 flights include both major and minor delays, with 69 minutes being the maximum delay observed. Of the 48 flights, 33 crossed the 15-minute threshold of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) standards for flight delays.
During this period, two flights were diverted — at 7.21 am, an Air India Express flight (IX 2923) from Mangaluru was diverted to Chennai, and at 7.47 am, an Air India flight (AI 2653) from Delhi was diverted to Cochin.
Both the north and south runways of KIA are equipped with CAT III-B, which is designed to provide support during low-visibility conditions. It provides accurate lateral and vertical guidance to pilots, ensuring a safe and aligned descent to the runway.
Despite this, flight operations at the airport remain impacted due to low visibility during the winter months, especially during the early morning hours. The airport also saw similar flight delays in early November.
"While the airport is equipped, it is also important that pilots are trained to use the system. Not many Indian airlines train their pilots, so the low visibility becomes a concern," shared an airport source.