A dense fog enveloped vast swathes of northern India on Saturday, causing severe disruptions to air, rail, and road transport. Over 250 flights were delayed, 30 cancelled, and numerous trains impacted, leaving passengers stranded amid biting cold.
At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, flight operations were temporarily suspended as runway visibility plummeted to zero.
The authorities issued a cautionary statement urging passengers to contact their respective airlines for updates.
“Due to dense fog, flight operations have been affected at the airport. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information,” the airport authorities said.
On the other hand, fifteen flights were diverted at the Delhi airport early Saturday morning as low visibility due to dense fog impacted operations for the second straight day.
Due to the adverse weather conditions, many flights were delayed and the country's largest airline IndiGo temporarily put arrivals and departures on hold.
An official said 15 flights were diverted at the airport between 12.15 am and 1.30 am due to reduced visibility.
"While landing and takeoffs 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," the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X at 6.56 am.
CAT III facility allows aircraft to operate in low visibility conditions.
Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, warned travellers of disruptions.
IndiGo stated in an advisory, “With winter in full swing, many regions in Northern India are experiencing varying fog conditions. On some days, fog may be dense, while on others, lighter fog could still impact flight schedules.”
In addition to Delhi, similar disruptions were reported at airports in Kolkata, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Jaipur.
At Kolkata Airport alone, approximately 25 flights were affected, according to Flightradar, a flight monitoring service.
The foggy conditions also wreaked havoc on train schedules, with delays and cancellations causing significant inconvenience to passengers.
Road traffic in cities such as Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Karnal, and Jaipur crawled at a snail’s pace as visibility dipped to perilous levels.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Delhi, warning of “very dense fog” on Saturday.
The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 10.2°C at 5:30 a.m., marginally up from 9.6°C on Friday.
Thick fog conditions were observed across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.
The IMD stated that satellite imagery showed the Indo-Gangetic Plain shrouded in a thick blanket of fog.
The cold wave gripping the region is expected to persist, with weather officials predicting similar conditions in the coming days.
North India had experienced comparable foggy weather on Friday, leading to over 400 flight delays at Delhi airport alone.
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