Over 25 flights were cancelled and more than 150 delayed at the Indira Gandhi International airport here as operations came to a halt for over an hour due to dense fog.
No flights could either land in or take-off from the Delhi airport between 7.30 am and 9 am as visibility dropped below the minimum requirement, according to airport sources.
Nearly 21 flights were diverted to nearby airports, they said.
More than 25 domestic flights were cancelled and nearly 140 were delayed due to cascading effect from disruptions during the morning peak hours. Almost 15 international flights were also delayed.
Delays of four to five hours were common throughout the day. The runway visual range at the IGI had fallen to 25 m, which is less than the minimum requirement for both landings and take-offs.
Delhi airport has advanced technology for low-visibility landings, called CAT IIIB. As a result, landings can take place with a visibility of 50 metres. However, for take-offs a minimum visibility of 125 metres is required.
Air India senior pilots Nivedita Bhasin tweeted, “Our 2- hour flight became a 5-hour flight. All we heard was #FollowMe’s.
PTI
