Delay, cancellation of flights leads to chaos at the airport

Several flights have been delayed and canceled in the past 24 hours due to a thick blanket of smog, which meant there was no visibility last night. An airport official claimed that Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport is equipped with CAT-IIIB, which allows pilots to land aircraft even in poor visibility.

He said: “Pilots are helpless when visibility drops to 50 metres.” He said there was no visibility at 8am on Sunday. Smog has caused major damage to flight operations in recent days, resulting in delays and cancellations of many flights. Airlines, thousands of passengers and airport employees faced inconvenience, he said, adding that flight operators and other stakeholders suffered losses running into millions.

There was chaos at the international airport last night after Air India Express flight IX-191, bound for Dubai, was cancelled. The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 7 p.m., had approximately 184 passengers on board. After checking in on time, passengers were asked to board the flight an hour before departure. However, the flight was unable to take off.

Passengers waited six hours, but were not told their flight had been canceled until 11 p.m. The airline cited crew timing issues but did not provide adequate explanation or compensation.

One flyer expressing frustration showed passengers left without water for three hours unattended. They protested against the airline around midnight, he said. The poor visibility also had consequences for train traffic last night and in the early morning. Visibility improved in the afternoon. After a few days it was sunny in the afternoon.