New Delhi, Jan 22 (Inditop.com) Hundreds of passengers were stuck at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) Friday with no information of flight schedules as air services were once again disrupted due to dense fog engulfing the capital.
Passengers at the IGIA had a harrowing time as no prior information was provided to them by the airlines and most of them were kept waiting for hours.
“I reached the airport on time to board my Lucknow flight which was scheduled to depart at 5 a.m. Till 9 a.m. there was no information from the airline and at 10 a.m. the flight was cancelled,” an angry Aparajita Singh told Inditop.
Over 100 domestic and international flights were delayed as visibility dropped below 50 meters early Friday. About 25 flights were cancelled Thursday and over 140 flights disrupted or delayed.
“Runway visibility dropped below 50 metres early Friday and the CAT III landing system was activated to facilitate flight operations,” an airport official said.
The passengers stuck at IGIA complained of lack of information from airlines about delays, rescheduling and cancellations of their flights.
“My flight to Mumbai was scheduled for 11 a.m. but it got delayed, first due to low visibility and then due to airspace closure. I have already missed my connecting flight to Bangalore and even if I reach Mumbai now, it is of no use,” said Viromika Sen, a medical student.
The airlines are finding it difficult to accommodate all the passengers with heavy backlog. “Due to the inclement weather conditions from the past one week, many aircrafts are stuck at different airports and we are not able to accommodate passengers,” said an airline official who did not want to be identified.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the dense fog was due to a large amount of moisture in the air. “Rain received in the national capital last week has left moisture in the air, which is responsible for the fog,” said an IMD official.
The capital recorded a minimum of 7.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the average for this time of the season.
