Heavy fog disrupted flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday,affecting schedules of nearly 170 flights and keeping passengers trapped in a Bangkok-bound aircraft for over 10 hours. While normal visibility stayed below 150 metres for over 10 hours,a snag in the Instrument Landing System (ILS) of the new runway 29-11 added to the chaos. The terminal could not be used for operations till noon. More than 150 flights were delayed,13 cancelled,three diverted and three rescheduled. Nearly 200 passengers of a Bangkok-Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight suffered a 10-hour ordeal when,the passengers alleged,the flight crew did not allow them to move out of the aircraft. We boarded at 4 am but the flight could not take off due to low visibility. Till about 6.30 am,no announcements were made. Then we were told the crew had not arrived. Most of us missed our connecting flights. When we asked the staff to de-board us,they shut the door, said Mahendra S,a stranded passenger of the Cathay Pacific CX 708 flight. Cathay Pacific marketing manager,Rakesh Rascar,said,The aircraft could not take off initially due to low visibility and we had to wait until 6.30 am. We were then given clearance by the Air Traffic Control and reached the holding point. The flight could not take off as visibility was still poor. Then the aircraft had to be brought back to the bay and queue up for refuelling. By that time,airspace was closed for an hour for Republic Day rehearsals,and by then the duty hours of the crew were over. Stand-by crew was called in and the flight took off at 2.20 pm. A Met department official said: A mirror was installed near the Runway Visibility Range (RVR) equipment to give readings to the Met department. But the system failed as moisture seeped into the mirror. The runway could be used only when the weather cleared. Sources said maintenance of the ILS is a major issue since it has been in use continuously for the last 15 days. Visibility started dipping at 11.30 pm on Friday and remained below 150 metres till 10 am. Weve forecast foggy conditions for the next two days, the official said. Flights fogged out Delayed 150 Cancelled 13 Diverted 3 Rescheduled 3
