In a recent development, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as Delhi airport faces disruption in air travel due to dense fog and disruptions.

The swift action by the ministry and DGCA comes in response to viral videos showing passengers stranded on the road, impacting IndiGo Airlines and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

SOP issued by DGCA

Real Time Information Dissemination:

• Airlines must publish accurate information about flight delays on their websites.
• Advance notification to affected passengers through SMS, WhatsApp and email.
• Display updated delay information at airports.
• Sensitize airline staff to communicate effectively with passengers.

Active flight cancellation:

• Airlines may cancel flights that are delayed by more than 3 hours due to adverse weather conditions.
• Its objective is to prevent congestion at the airport and reduce inconvenience to passengers.

Reporting and Monitoring:

• Incident reporting thrice daily for all six metro airports.
• Vigilant monitoring and reporting of DGCA instructions, SOPs and Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).

Emergency ‘war room’:

• Establishment of ‘War Rooms’ at six metro airports to immediately address passenger inconveniences.
• To ensure round the clock availability of adequate CISF manpower.

Show cause notice to IndiGo and CSMIA:

In response to the chaotic scenes, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) issued show cause notices to Indigo Airlines and CSMIA, Mumbai. Failure to respond may result in financial penalties.

Delhi’s CAT III runway progress:

Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia shared the progress at Delhi airport on Twitter. Runway 29L is CAT III operational, allowing landings in low visibility. Efforts are underway to make the third runway CAT III compliant.

Passenger Compensation Crisis:

Despite CAR, passengers continue to face problems in receiving refunds and proper communication from airlines in the event of disruption. The Ministry emphasizes on adherence to the guidelines on compensation for delayed or canceled flights.

As fog continues to disrupt flight operations over North India, the aviation sector is facing challenges, and these new SOPs are aimed at providing clarity and assistance to passengers during adverse weather conditions. Will these measures be enough to deal with the storm? only time will tell.