Flight operations disrupted at Delhi Airport as visibility drops to zero

NEW DELHI: Flight operations were severely affected at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi as visibility dropped to 50 meters on Tuesday.

According to airport sources, the 50-meter visibility is considered zero visibility. There was a slight improvement in visibility at 8.30 am when visibility was 75 meters, but it again dropped to 50 meters.

"Flight operations have been affected as many flights got delayed due to weather conditions. There might be certain diversions," according to airport sources.

As of now five flights got diverted to Jaipur since 8.30 - 10 am due to weather conditions at Delhi airport, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Airport again issued a passenger advisory on the second consecutive day.

"While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," reads the advisory issued by Delhi Airport.

The airport authorities initiated the anti-fog landing system, technically called the CAT-lll Instrument Landing System (ILS). The CAT IlI system helps with a precision approach and landing when the runway visibility level is low.

Meanwhile, the winter chill continues to grip North India, as cities such as Prayagraj, Ghaziabad and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Moga in Punjab faced cold waves, engulfed in dense fog on Tuesday morning.

The IMD on Tuesday morning released satellite images showing a layer of fog spreading over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Delhi-NCR region was also covered with a dense layer of fog on Tuesday morning, as the temperature dropped to almost 7 degrees in the national capital, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The IMD also warned of possible health impacts on people due to the dense fog in the national capital.

"Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath," IMD said in a release on Monday.

The IMD release further stated that the fog conditions may tend to irritate the membranes of the eye causing various infections leading to redness or swelling of the eye.