200 flights delayed in Delhi, 267 trains cancelled

NEW DELHI: Over 200 flights were delayed and five Delhi-bound planes diverted to Jaipur owing to dense fog shrouding IGIA for over 11 hours. Visibility at the airport dropped to just 25 metres for a few hours. Railways cancelled 267 trains and the fog delayed over 335 trains.
More than 200 flights delayed, 5 diverted due to fog
More than 200 flights were delayed while five others headed to Delhi were diverted to Jaipur after dense fog engulfed IGI Airport for over 11 hours on Monday.
Visibility dropped to below 200 metres from 1am, affecting flight operations. CAT III procedures were initiated for a few hours, airport officials said.
The first diversion was at 5.45am, of a flight from Sharjah. After this, four other Delhi-bound flights were also diverted to Jaipur due to the fog. While no flight was cancelled, delays did slow down the boarding process.
According to IMD, IGI Airport was under the grip of dense fog (visibility below 200 metres) from 1am till 11.40am. During this period, severe dense fog was also observed as the visibility dropped to 25 metres for a few hours. “CAT III procedures were initiated from 6am to 10.30am,” said an airport official.
Delhi airport tweeted at 9am, announcing that flight operations may get affected due to dense fog and passengers should check with the airlines for the latest update.
According to officials, CAT III procedures are initiated when the visibility at runway is between 0 and 275 metres, CAT II is for visibility between 275 and 550 metres while CAT I is for visibility above 550 metres.
“Three runways (11, 29 and 28) are equipped with the instrument landing system. Pilots trained in CAT III procedures can land the aircraft with a minimum visibility of 50 metres. An aircraft can take off with a visibility of 125 metres,” said an airport official.
Sources said pilots not trained in CAT III procedures wait at the taxiway after formalities like boarding are completed and take off after clearance as they need visibility of about 500 metres. This often causes delays as planes take off after their scheduled time. Delhi airport utilises A-CDM (airport collaborative decision-making) with airlines, ATC and IMD for proper management of low-visibility situations, said sources.