Flight Chaos at Delhi's IGI Airport as Dense Fog Causes Over 150 Delays

Dense fog blanketed Delhi and North India on Tuesday, causing widespread travel disruptions and grounding flights at the region's busiest airports. Over 150 flights departing from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were delayed, while seven others were canceled due to operational reasons.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported near whiteout conditions at Delhi's Palam and Safdarjung observatories, with visibility plummeting to as low as 50 meters between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. The agency classifies fog as "very dense" when visibility drops below 50 meters, causing significant challenges for air travel and other outdoor activities.

According to a report of Hindustan Times, Delhi and North India witnessed dense fog leading to delayed take offs from their origin airports. More than 150 flights at Delhi’s IGI airport were delayed on Tuesday. Seven were cancelled due to operational reasons, said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official aware of the matter.

The minimum temperature in Delhi rose to 6.9°C, up from 6.1°C the previous day, as the city experienced a weakening of cold day conditions. The fog cleared out after 8:30 am, although the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts moderate to dense fog in Delhi early on Wednesday.