Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia unveils measures to tackle Delhi's fog-induced flight woes

Guwahati, Jan 15: Amid the severe fog conditions in Delhi, forcing the airlines to divert or delay their flights, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday shared the steps being taken “to mitigate the situation in the near future”. He also assured people that all stakeholders are “working round the clock to minimise the fog-related impact”. 

“Yesterday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 AM to 9 AM. The authorities, therefore, were compelled to enforce a shut-down of operations for some time even on CAT III runways (CAT III runways cannot handle Zero-Visibility operations). The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem,” Scindia wrote on social media X.

“Delhi Airport has been asked to immediately expedite the operationalization of the CAT III-enabled 4th runway (in addition to the existing CAT III-enabled runway) to the satisfaction of the DGCA, in order to get approvals," Scindia said. 

“The DGCA will issue an SOP for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations & delays due to adverse weather,” he added.

Scindia requested travellers to bear with the authorities “during this difficult period”. 

Meanwhile, while reacting to an incident of alleged assault against an IndiGo pilot on board a Delhi-Goa flight on Sunday, the minister said, “Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions.”