New Delhi: A total of five flights were diverted and more than 100 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport Monday morning due to adverse weather conditions, according to an official.
Currently, three out of the four runways at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital are operational.
IGIA, the country’s largest airport, has four runways — RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28 and RW 11L/29R. Out of them, three runways, including CAT III-compliant RW 11L/29R, are operational. The CAT III-compliant RW 10/28 is undergoing maintenance work.
The official said four flights were diverted to Jaipur and one flight to Ahmedabad between 1 am and 5 am Monday. More than 100 flights were delayed, the official added.
A thick layer of fog enveloped various parts of the national capital on Monday morning, resulting in low visibility conditions.
Amidst operations at the Delhi airport getting affected for the second straight day, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Monday said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related disruptions.
As part of measures to mitigate the fog-related disruptions, Scindia said the Delhi airport has been asked to immediately expedite the operationalisation of the CAT III-enabled fourth runway in addition to the existing CAT III-enabled runway to the satisfaction of the DGCA in order to get approvals.
Generally, CAT III compliance refers to flight operations in low visibility conditions.
In a post on X, Scindia said that Sunday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 am to 9 am.
According to him, the authorities were compelled to enforce a shut down of operations for some time even on CAT III runways. The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem, he added.
Further, the minister said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will issue an SOP for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather.
In a post on X Monday, Air India said it regrets the disruption to operations arising from the last few days’ dense fog in North India, including at its main Delhi hub, “which resulted in some diversions and desynchronisation of aircraft and crew rotations”.
“We are working hard to restore schedules, and sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers,” it said.
Sunday, 10 flights were diverted and some were cancelled as the airport operations were significantly impacted due to low visibility conditions and dense fog.
Meanwhile, IndiGo Monday said a passenger assaulted its first officer while he was making a flight delay announcement onboard a Goa-bound aircraft at the Delhi airport.
A purported video clipping of the incident, which took place on Sunday, has surfaced on social media.
In the post on X, Scindia said it is his earnest request to all travellers to bear with us during this difficult period. “All stakeholders are trying their best to minimise passenger inconvenience. Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions”.
As per protocol, IndiGo said the passenger was declared unruly and handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action.
According to the airline, the incident is being referred to the independent internal committee for appropriate action and inclusion of the passenger on the ‘no-fly list’ as laid down in regulatory guidelines.
Regulations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) provide for classifying unruly passenger behaviour into three levels and such people can face flying ban for varying periods.
Unruly behaviour such as physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation are classified as Level 1 while physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking or sexual harassment will be classified as Level 2.
Life threatening behaviour such as damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence like choking and murderous assault will be considered as Level 3.
Depending on the level of unruly behaviour, an internal committee set up by the airline concerned can decide on the duration for which an unruly passenger can be banned from flying.
PTI