Severe fog brought on by a dipping mercury threw train and flight services haywire in the national capital on Wednesday morning, with scores of passengers stranded at airports and railway stations.
Several flights bound for the capital or scheduled to take off from the national capital were delayed or cancelled owing to the prevailing weather.
According to the flight tracking website, Flightradar24, a total of 51 flights were delayed and 11 more cancelled at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
Speaking to ANI, a passenger at the Delhi airport said, “I flew in from Goa. My flight was delayed by three hours due to fog. I didn’t expect my arrival to the city to be delayed this long.”
Meanwhile, domestic carrier IndiGo posted an advisory on social media platform X, informing passengers that flight departures and arrivals were likely to be impacted due to the prevailing weather in Delhi and neighbouring Chandigarh.
“#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to inclement weather in #Delhi and #Chandigarh, flight departures and arrivals are likely to be impacted. Please check your flight status at http://bit.ly/2EjJGGT before leaving for the airport,” IndiGo posted on X.
Five flights at the Delhi airport were diverted between 9 pm on Tuesday to 7 am on Wednesday, sources said, adding that three flights were diverted to Jaipur and two more to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
The airport initiates low visibility procedures (LVP) – measures aimed at making landing for flights easier – when visibility drops below 800 metres.
Visuals from Terminal 3 of the IGIA showed flights shrouded by fog as they were parked on the tarmac.
The Delhi Airport also issued a passenger advisory stating that the flight services were likely to be affected due to the prevailing fog.
“While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the advisory read.
The airport authorities initiated the anti-fog landing system, known as the CAT-lll Instrument Landing System (ILS). The CAT IlI system helps with a precision approach and landing when the runway visibility level is low.
Meanwhile, passengers at the Anand Vihar railway station, too, said all Delhi-bound trains arrived eight hours late.
“Our train was delayed by 12-13 hours. It was going at a reduced speed because of the fog,” Ankit, a passenger from Bihar, told ANI.
“We arrived very late. We were scheduled to arrive in Delhi by 8.50 pm, Tuesday, but reached the city at 5.30 in the morning. We could have boarded the next train if we had arrived on time,” another passenger told ANI.
According to the chief public relations officer (CPRO), Northern Railways, a total of 23 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country are running late due to the dense fog.
New Delhi-Moga Express, Bhagalpur-Anand Vihar Express, Ranikamlapathi-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express, Banaras-New Delhi were running late by over two hours while the Puri-New Delhi Express, Hyderabad-New Delhi Express, and Howrah-Kalka Express were delayed by six and a half hours, according to the official.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) pegged the minimum temperature in the national capital at 10°C on Wednesday morning.
The Met office informed further that the minimum temperature in January recorded in the city’s Safdarjung observatory was the second lowest during the past 13 years.