Flight services went haywire on Sunday as the city woke up to a chilly morning, enveloped in a thick fog with a significant drop in visibility. Draped in a dense fog since dawn, the city witnessed reduced visibility which impacted the usual hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Commuters faced immense difficulty in navigating through the misty roads amid cases of erratic driving due to poor visibility. Flight operations were temporarily suspended at the Kolkata airport due to the dense fog. The reduced visibility led to flight cancellations and delays, leaving passengers stranded and worried.

According to sources, the visible range at the airport dropped to 25 metres, causing widespread anxiety among travellers and the airport staff. The situation started deteriorating at 6 AM when visibility decreased to 50 metres. Despite efforts to maintain normalcy, the situation worsened after 7 AM as visibility further plummeted to 25 metres.

This raised concern among the airport staff about the feasibility of take-offs and landings in such conditions. Several fights took extra time to land due to fog. Airport authorities closely monitored the situation and tried to manage the crisis. Flight schedules were reevaluated and efforts were made to provide timely updates to passengers.

The airport authorities contemplated using modern CAT (Category I) lights to facilitate regular flight operations. Sources said that measures were taken to address the issue with a focus on maintaining the normalcy of flights on a war footing. The use of advanced CAT lights helped in smooth air traffic operations. While the situation was being closely monitored, it was anticipated that the visibility will improve rapidly as the morning progressed.

The deployment of modern technology and vigilant efforts by authorities were primarily aimed at restoring regular flight operations at the Kolkata airport and ensuring the safety and convenience of passengers. Trains delayed due to fog Several trains were delayed while many were delayed on account of dense fog that covered parts of West Bengal today.

According to Eastern Railway, 12 mail/express trains including Netaji Express, Vibhuti Express, Danapur Express, Padatik Express were delayed due to the fog this morning. The long-distance trains were delayed enroute by an average of around 30 minutes. In Howrah Division of the ER, 46 EMU locals were delayed en route on an average by about 20 minutes. Likewise, in Sealdah Division, almost all EMU local trains ran late with a delay enroute of an average of 10 minutes.