Delhi Airport: What is the reason for flight delay? It’s not just winter fog

North India experienced low visibility and dense fog on January 14, 2024, causing significant disruption flight operations.

Major airline IndiGo issued a statement acknowledging the impact on its operations and regretting the inconvenience caused to passengers.

Delhi airport, an important hub for air travel, witnessed chaos as flights faced huge delays, with no departures for six consecutive hours. Incoming flights were also affected, forced to wait on the runway due to lack of available parking spaces.

This was further enhanced by the use of ‘CAT3’ technology designed to facilitate aircraft navigation during low visibility conditions.

CAT3 compliant aircraft can land in visibility greater than 50 metres, but the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recommends taking off only in visibility of 125 meters or more. Unfortunately, only one CAT3 runway is currently operational at Delhi airport during dense fog, as a construction crane near the second runway interferes with the signal.

Delhi airport has requested the National Highway Authority of India and the Airport Authority of India to resolve the problem by removing the crane or reducing its height. The obstruction caused by the crane has rendered a CAT3-capable runway inoperable during low visibility, affecting the efficiency of flight operations.

Due to lack of parking slots after landing, passengers had to wait inside the aircraft on the runway for several hours, creating chaos at the airport. Despite assurances from Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, operational challenges remain.

While the Delhi airport claims that work on the third operational runway with CAT3 capacity is nearing completion, the challenges lie not only in manning the aircraft and the runway but also in training enough pilots to man the facility. According to DGCA, limited staff training due to associated costs contributes to fewer trained CAT3 pilots, leading to diversion of flights.

IndiGo has assured that they have adequate number of CAT III qualified pilots for optimal operations during the winter season. However, recent reports suggest that the flight may have been altered due to less-trained CAT3 pilots, raising concerns and prompting an investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).