Dense fog disrupts ops at Delhi Airport: 221 flights cancelled, 5 diverted

Senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation also visited the Airport Operations Control Centre and reviewed real-time operations. “Dense fog conditions continue to impact flight operations at several airports in Northern India. In view of the prevailing situation, certain flights may be delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” the ministry said in a social media post.

Passengers were advised to check the latest flight status with airlines before leaving for the airport and to allow additional travel time.

DIAL issued multiple fog updates during the morning, stating that flight operations were impacted due to prevailing fog conditions. In advisories, the airport operator said delays and cancellations were likely and urged passengers to contact their respective airlines for real-time updates. Airport authorities also said ground staff were deployed across terminals to assist passengers.

Airlines also issued travel advisories. “Dense fog continues to affect visibility at Delhi and other airports across Northern India, leading to delays and changes to flight schedules. Prolonged low visibility during the morning hours has impacted air traffic movement, and as a result, some flights have been cancelled to ensure safe and compliant operations through the rest of the day,” IndiGo said in a social media post.

“In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for our guests, some flights have been cancelled. We understand this may cause inconvenience, and our ground teams across airports are working round the clock to assist and support you,” Air India said.

Passengers have been advised to remain in contact with airlines for updated information, as weather conditions continue to be closely monitored. By late evening, the airport operator said flight operations were gradually normalising.

Meanwhile, passengers took to social media and wrote about the “chaos”. “It’s full blown chaos in Delhi airport. Most of us have been travelling for >28 hours from US, Canada, UK and Europe. No response from Air India on what next. A lot of hungry people with no option. Says a lot about the state of Indian aviation,” a journalist posted on X.

“Air India is in complete shambles in Delhi airport. Woke up at 3am for a 6am flight. After delaying our flight to Hyderabad- AI 2513 – by 12 hours (1 hr at a time), Air India finally cancelled the flight altogether. There was no staff to tell the passengers that it was cancelled though – we found out when someone logged into the app. Then some poor staff member tried to figure out what was going on, the higher ups werent telling her. Two hours later (fourteen hours after our flight was meant to leave) we are in Baggage reclaim to find out suitcases, but now somehow Air India have lost the plane… And dont know where our suitcases are. Others here say they have been waiting for their suitcases to arrive for FOUR HOURS. What is going on…,” Scottish historian and author Sam Dalrymple wrote on X.