Cancellation & delays due to fog at airports in North India: Centre in RS

New Delhi: In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation V. K. Singh on Monday said the reason for cancellation and delays of flights has primarily been due to the unprecedented fog situation at airports situated in northern India during December 2023 and January 2024.

In the reply, the minister said the visibility dropped to zero metres at various airports, affecting aircraft operations.

“The situation was further affected due to non-availability of Runway 28/10 at Delhi airport. Such cancellations and delays have been caused by circumstances that are beyond the control of the airlines,” said the minister.

The minister further said that while there were delays and cancellations, Delhi airport was well prepared and had taken various measures to be prepared and respond to the delays due to fog, including additional 130-140 manpower deployed at the airport during fog season to handle impact of NOTAM during specific hours.

“At Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), there is a well staffed medical centre and there are additional 700+ seats available across the three terminals. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 8, Series C, Part I, on 'All Weather Operations (AWO)' which stipulates the requirement of crew to undergo CAT II/CAT III training,” said Singh.

The minister said that in Delhi, ILS CAT-III is already operational at four runway ends.

“ILS CAT- I is operational at three runway ends and not feasible to upgrade to ILS CAT-III on these runway ends due to limitations of obstacle free zone and land constraints for basic strip and approach light systems. Provision of CAT-III ILS is made at RWY 29R and new ILS has been installed and flight calibrated for ILS CAT-III,” said Singh.

Singh further said that Airports Authority of India (AAI) had also issued fog preparedness manual to handle such situations and DGCA has issued CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV titled 'Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights' in order to reduce inconvenience to the affected passenger due to delay in flight.

“Under the provision of aforementioned CAR, the airline has to provide meals and refreshments/hotel accommodation/ alternate flight/ full refund to the passenger who has checked in on time depending on the expected delay beyond of its original announced scheduled time of departure,” the minister added in the reply.