Fogged out? AI won’t divert,will return to airport of origin

“In case of an emergency,Jaipur and Lucknow happen to be the closest airports where Delhi-bound flights get diverted. But now we are not allowed to divert to Jaipur,” a senior Air India pilot said.

An airline official,however,said that at times of fog-related congestion in Delhi,diverting flights to other domestic destinations has not been helping matters. “During fog-related congestion,Delhi air traffic control can handle only 22 flight arrivals per hour. So if a Delhi-bound flight is diverted to Jaipur or Lucknow,the problem of transporting these passengers back to Delhi becomes an issue. These airports are also very small as compared to Delhi,and cannot handle more than four aircraft at a time. There are infrastructure-related constraints,” the official said.

On Monday,several flights were delayed due to low visibility in Delhi despite the absence of fog. The meteorological department attributed the poor-visibility condition to pollution,haze,smog and no wind over the runways.

Smaller aircraft could not operate until 3 pm — they operate under normal visibility of 1200-1500 metres. Low visibility procedures (LVP) had to be implemented on Runway 28-10 for at least two hours and for over three hours on Runway 29-11. Airport officials said a total of 136 flights operated during LVP under CAT I and CAT II conditions.

“The trend may not stay for more than two days. There is possibility of dense fog only if the temperature takes a dip and moisture content in the air increases,” said R K Jenamani,Director-in-Charge,Met Office,IGI Airport.