Dense fog, low visibility impacts IndiGo flight operations; passengers experience discomfort

New Delhi: Low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India impacted IndiGo flight operations, causing inconvenience to passengers travelling by air on Sunday. According to an official statement from IndiGo Airlines, "Due to the low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India, IndiGo flight operations were impacted on January 14, 2024. This had a cascading effect on our operations throughout the day. Our staff kept passengers apprised of all delays and cancellations across airports and made every possible effort to facilitate the passengers. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers." Earlier in the day, a special IndiGo flight, through which Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were going to travel to Manipur's Imphal for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, was delayed due to fog and poor visibility conditions at Delhi Airport on Sunday morning.
The Congress leaders were not able to board the flight and sat waiting at the airport lounge. Meanwhile, the national capital also woke up to a dense layer of fog, impairing the movement of traffic in a bitterly cold Sunday. The minimum temperature in the RK Puram Area was recorded at 7 degrees Celsius in the early hours of the day. Meanwhile, people on the streets as well as the homeless took refuge at government-run night shelters amid the unforgiving cold and foggy conditions. The night shelters in Delhi are aimed at providing refuge to homeless people, who live on the streets and have nowhere else to go in the cold. The shelters offer blankets, beds, hot water, and food to those seeking shelter. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department issued an alert amid the bone-chilling cold. "Very dense fog layer extends over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, North Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Passengers on highways need to drive extremely carefully and only with fog lights," the IMD posted from its X handle. "Journeys need to be halted until fog reduction by morning especially on expressways. Very Dense fog reporting over Amritsar, Chandigarh, Patiala, Ambala, Ganganagar, Palam, Safdarjung, Lucknow with visibility 0 meter since 0230 hrs IST of today," it added. The fog is likely to prevail during the morning hours in isolated pockets of northwest India during the next three to four days, the Met agency said. As thick fog gripped the national capital, reducing visiting to alarming proportions, several flights were delayed.
Vistara's Delhi-to-Pune flight was delayed by more than an hour, according to officials.