Auto & Transportation
More than 200 planes are delayed due to fog in Delhi.


By Kajal Sharma - 01 Feb 2024 03:23 PM
By seven in the morning, three planes were diverted to Jaipur, one to Ahmedabad, and one to Mumbai, according to an airport official. Over 200 aircraft at Delhi airport were delayed as a result of the decreased visibility.Most of the aircraft used for the flight diversions were not flown by pilots with CAT-III certification. In aviation, an advanced instrument landing system (ILS) approach that makes landings in extremely low visibility situations (due to fog, rain, or snow) is referred to as Category III, or CAT III. Even in situations when runway visibility is as low as 50 feet (15 meters) and the visual range is between 50 and 200 meters, a CAT III system enables a precise approach and landing.Nevertheless, aviation operations under low visibility are additionally hampered by the airport's limited capacity for CAT-III compliant runways. The airport's oldest runway, 9/27, is not CAT-III compatible, despite having three other runways that are.Runway 28/10's operationalization, which is presently re-carpeting, has been delayed until the middle of February while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation completes its investigation.
On one end, Runway 29R-11L complies with CAT-III standards, and by the end of the next month, authorities hope to certify it for CAT-III landings from both ends. Consequently, the primary runway for CAT-III flight operations at this time is runway 29L-11R.The airport official said that more flight disruptions could occur due to the rainy circumstances on Wednesday. The biggest airline in India, IndiGo, has alerted customers to possible travel disruptions owing to unfavorable weather conditions in Delhi, Srinagar, and Chandigarh.All departures/arrivals and the flights that follow may be impacted by the anticipated low visibility in Delhi (DEL), Varanasi (VNS), Patna (PAT), Ayodhya (AYJ), Bagdogra (IXB), and Darbhanga (DBR), light rain in Dharamshala (DHM), and snow in Srinagar (SXR) and Leh (IXL). "We kindly ask that passengers monitor the status of their flights," SpiceJet posted on social media site X.