Fog disrupts flight operations at Srinagar airport

As cold wave tightened grip over Kashmir, poor visibility due to foggy conditions led to the cancellation of several flights at Srinagar airport on Saturday. Vehicles moved on Srinagar roads with headlights on even during the day.

An official at Srinagar airport said, like Friday, several flights were cancelled on Saturday, also due to poor runway visibility. “Flight operations are disrupted at Srinagar airport every winter with visibility often dropping below 500 meters in December and January which is much below the standard visibility,” he said.

The official said that poor visibility on the runway can only be overcome by an upgraded landing facility. Srinagar airport is under the direct operational control of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The air-traffic, landing strip, fire fighting and crash activities apart from the airspace are controlled by IAF while terminal building and apron area, where an aircraft is parked are controlled by the Airports Authority of India.

Meanwhile, foggy and cold conditions prevailed across Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Saturday. Vehicles on Srinagar roads were moving with their headlights on as there was poor visibility due to fog.

MeT office has predicted that weather across Kashmir would remain dry in the coming days due to which temperatures would plummet further. Drass, in cold desert Ladakh region, recorded a bone-chilling minus 24.3 degrees Celsius last night, an MeT spokesperson said.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus three degrees celsius, which was 0.9 degrees below the season’s average, he said. In the last three years, the start of December was the coldest of the decade.

“Local weather phenomenon of clear sky and dry spell was witnessed during the first week of December for the last three years, which has caused the temperature to touch minus three degrees in Srinagar constantly,” he added.