Fog delays 500 flights, cancels over 20 in Delhi

Over 500 flights were delayed and more than 20 cancelled as dense fog severely hampered visibility at the Indira Gandhi International airport on Monday.

Nearly all flights arriving in and departing from Delhi were affected. About 453 domestic and 97 international flights were delayed. Almost 23 flights were cancelled, all of which were domestic flights, according to an airport official.

No take-offs could take place between 7.30 am and 9.30 am. This was because runway visual range (RVR) was between 100-125 metres, while aircraft require more than 125 metres RVR for take-off.

While planes could land in Delhi, they were delayed because of unavailability of parking bays, which were occupied by aircraft waiting to take off, the official said. There were no diversions to nearby airports due to fog.

Vistara's chief strategy and commercial officer, Sanjiv Kapoor, took to Twitter to describe the mess at Delhi airport on Monday morning. "All departures were held up due to fog, arrivals not getting gates as all occupied by aircraft waiting to depart. Departures finally starting to happen now. Consequential delays expected through the day across the network," Kapoor tweeted.

While the fog dissipated later and visibility improved, there were delays throughout the day because of cascading effect on flight operations.