New Delhi: Flight operations came to a standstill tonight after dense fog enveloped the IGI Airport leading to delay in schedule of around 40 flights. Around 150 domestic and international flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport had been affected earlier in the day due to fog, causing inconvenience to passengers.
Fog started to descend at the airport around 6.30 PM and it became dense by 8 PM. The visibility dropped to less than 75 meters due to which flight operations were disrupted, airport sources said.
The fog became more dense around 9.30 PM due to which the general visibility was almost nil while the runway visibility was below 50 meters, leading to suspension of flight operations.
According to MeT department, Delhi is witnessing second spell of dense fog since last night.
“This is the second spell of dense fog in which the runway visibility is likely to become zero. The foggy condition and near zero-visibilty condition is likely to remain till 9 AM tomorrow morning. “This may halt the flight operations at the IGI Airport,” R K Jenamani, Airport MeT Officer said. If such a condition continues to prevail then it would be the worst fog since 2010, he added.
The IGI Airport is CAT III B compliant which means that an aircraft can land when the runway visibility is up to 75 metres.
The minimum visibility required for Low Visibility Take Off (LVTO) is 125 and 150 meters for small and big aircraft. “Since the visibility was less than 75 meters, the flight operations were suspended,” Jenamani said.
