The national capital witnessed significant air travel disruptions on Saturday due to thick fog and poor weather conditions at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, leading to the diversion of 18 Delhi-bound flights and causing delays for numerous others, airport sources confirmed.
Between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., as visibility plummeted below 800 meters, low visibility procedures (LVP) were activated to assist flight landings. Flights were redirected to cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Amritsar amidst the first spell of the season’s fog.
Delhi experienced reduced visibility as well as ‘ very poor’ air quality readings in various areas, resulting in smog cover across multiple city sectors.
Due to the delays and diversions, airlines actively updated passengers via social media, urging them to contact the carriers for assistance.
Vistara Airlines reported the diversion of Flights UK954 and UK928 from Mumbai to Jaipur in a series of updates, later confirming their expected arrival at Delhi Airport before 11:30 a.m.
#DiversionUpdate: Flight UK832 from Chennai to Delhi (MAA-DEL) has been diverted to Amritsar (ATQ) due to low visibility at Delhi (DEL) airport and is expected to arrive in Amritsar at 1100hrs. Please stay tuned for further updates.
— Vistara (@airvistara) December 2, 2023
Similarly, due to bad weather and low visibility at IGI Airport, Vistara’s Delhi-bound Flight UK906 from Ahmedabad was rerouted back to Ahmedabad.
Terminal 3 of IGI recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 375 at 10:00 a.m., with areas like Anand Vihar and Ashok Vihar rated ‘Very Poor’ with AQI readings of 388 and 386, respectively, at 6 a.m.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai highlighted the lifting of Graded Response Action Plan (Grap-3) while emphasizing stringent implementation of Grap-1 and 2 to combat the deteriorating air quality. The AQI categorizes 0-100 as ‘good’ and 400-500 or above as’severe’.