Over 120 flights delayed at Delhi Airport due to dense fog; 5 diverted to Jaipur

More than 120 flights were delayed at the Delhi Airport till 10 am on Tuesday, 26 December, 2023, due to fog. As many as five planes were diverted to Rajasthan’s Jaipur.

The passengers were alerted about flight delays as dense fog continued to hover over the national capital for the third consecutive day, bringing down the visibility to nearly zero.

At 10 am (IST), the Indira Gandhi International Airport Palam Delhi continued to be covered with dense fog, with general visibility remaining at 50m.

Most of the airport RVRs are at the range of 125 to 275m at CAT-III dense fog and Airport at CAT-III dense fog operations

New Delhi IGI airport flights delay

According to reports, 55 domestic departures and 39 domestic arrivals were delayed. Also, 17 international departures and 12 international arrivals delayed due to fog.

An advisory was also issued by the Delhi airport for passengers which said while the landing and takeoffs continue, flights that are not CAT III compliant may be affected.

Kind attention to all flyers!#Fog #FogAlert #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/FJDGPhyLmj

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) December 26, 2023

The CAT III instrument is an anti-fog landing system initiated during poor visibility.

On Monday (25 December), as many as eight flights were diverted from the Delhi airport - seven to Jaipur and one to Ahmedabad. As per officials, the flight diversions took place between 6 am and 9 am.

Delhi weather forecast

On Tuesday, a thick blanket of fog engulfed Delhi, while the mercury dipped to 7 degrees Celsius, nearly a notch below the season's normal.

Low visibility due to the dense fog was reported from several areas of the city, such as Safdarjung, Anand Vihar and India Gate.

The visibility recorded at Delhi's main weather station at Safdarjung was 200 metres at 5:30 am. It was 100 metres at Palam.

According to a weather forecast, very dense fog is likely to be witnessed in isolated pockets of Delhi and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, with a reading of 374, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital remained in the "very poor" category at 9:05 am.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi is likely to experience fog till 28 December. There will be foggy conditions from 29 to 30 December, and the minimum temperature is expected to dip by a few notches.

With inputs from agencies