Fog engulfs IGI airport; over 100 flight affected

Operations at IGI airport were once again affected due to dense fog which hit the schedules of over 100 flights causing inconvenience to the passengers.

New Delhi: Operations at IGI airport here were once again affected on Tuesday due to dense fog which hit the schedules of over 100 flights causing inconvenience to the passengers.

After a day of respite, fog returned at the airport this morning and reduced the visibility to below 50 metres at one end of the third runway, virtually shutting the operations on this runway. This brought take-offs from the third runway to a halt but landings were taking place using CAT-III B instrument landing system. A total of 11 flights landed using CAT-III B, nine with CAT-III A, 10 CAT-II and 30 using CAT-I ILS. The runway visibility kept fluctuating between 125 to 175 metres during the early hours, due to which take-offs were delayed as airport authorities faced problem in maintaining the schedule of the flights. Three flights -- one freighter aircraft, a Jet Airways flight from Abu Dhabi and a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul --?had to be diverted as the pilots were not trained to land aircraft when the visibility is less than 200 metres, airport sources said. According to airport Met officials, the general visibility was less than 50 metres between 6 AM and 9.30 AM. This led to delay in departures of flights as the minimum runway visibility for low visibility take off is 125 to 150 metres, depending upon the size of the aircraft. There was no suspension of flight operations at the airport due to fog, an airport official said. Last week, dense fog had badly affected the flight operations at the airport. Yesterday, Delhi witnessed a clear morning and operations at the airport were normal after eight days of foggy conditions. Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed a foggy morning which later gave way to a clear day. The maximum temperature was recorded 19.7 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while the minimum was 8.5 degree Celsius, one degree above normal. The city witnessed chilly winds, which also brought the temperature down. Met department has predicted a mainly clear sky with possibility of moderate fog in the morning tomorrow. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain around 20 and seven degrees Celsius respectively.