Fog hits scores of flight schedules in Delhi

New Delhi -- Air traffic at the Delhi airport was thrown out of gear for nearly three hours Saturday as a thick blanket of fog reduced the runway visibility to zero, resulting in the delay of over 70 flights.

Thousands of passengers were stranded for hours as there was no flight movement between 4.00 a.m. and 7.30 a.m., airport authorities said.

"The runway visibility was zero for over three hours and no flights landed or took off from the airport. However, the CAT-III (B) runway used during fog was opened for operation after 7.30 a.m.," said a spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).

At least 55 overnight domestic flights were waiting to take off and two flights from Dubai were delayed. Two international flights, including one Royal Jordan flight, were also diverted. While one was diverted to Mumbai, the Royal Jordan flight was diverted to Karachi. One Air France cargo flight had to be cancelled.

Three Jet Airways flights to Jaipur, Hyderabad and Vadodara were delayed and two flights of the same airlines were cancelled.

Two Air Deccan flights to Mumbai and Bangalore were delayed. Several Air Sahara flights had to be rescheduled.

The runway visibility at the airport was much better at noon at 1,500 metres, and was likely to improve further.

So far, nine international flights have taken off and six have arrived, while 12 domestic flights have arrived and 24 taken off, the officials said.

"Some Indian Airlines flights have already taken off, said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department said the fog situation was unlikely to improve until Monday.

"Delhi will continue to witness fog over the next two days and the minimum temperature will hover around 8 degrees Celsius."

On Saturday, the capital recorded a minimum of 8.2 degrees Celsius, slightly above the normal temperature.