Heavy fog in Delhi delays many flights

Heavy fog in Delhi threw flights schedules awry at Chennai airport on Monday. Around nine flights from Delhi, including the one in which Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadra was scheduled to arrive, were delayed by more than two hours since 9 am, while more than 20 departures were delayed by more than two hours. Departures to different cities from Chennai were delayed because aircraft were stuck in Delhi. Airlines had to postpone seven departures.

Six flights to Delhi, two flights to Bengaluru, four flights to Kolkata, two flights to Kochi, two flights to Port Blair and flights to Coimbatore, Madurai, Vijayawada and Vizag scheduled to depart between 6 am and 2 pm suffered delays.

A senior official said majority of the morning departures suffered delays because many flights from Delhi arrived late by more than an hour. “The delays are expected to have a cascading effect on the schedules throughout the day. The postponements of the flights are not final. Passengers should speak to the airlines before leaving for the airport,” he added.

Heavy fog in the city caused visibility to dip below 150 metres, resulting in delays of several flights. The unexpected delays and congestion hit many airports across the country.