The government said 496 flights were canceled and 8,038 flights were delayed in January due to fog

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday that as many as 496 flights were canceled and 8,038 flights were delayed due to heavy fog in January. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said that the Civil Aviation Authority held a fog/low visibility operational preparedness meeting with all stakeholders before the onset of the fog period to ensure smooth operations of flights and issued instructions.

Furthermore, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued regulations requiring operators to ensure that all flight crew members are qualified for takeoff, instrument approach and operations and meet the minimum CAT-I/II/III minimum standards, where applicable, the minister said . CAT-III is intended for flying in low visibility conditions.

When asked whether a large number of domestic and international flights were delayed due to heavy fog during the current winter, Singh replied in the affirmative.

“The total number of delayed and canceled flights during January 2024 was 8,038 and 496 respectively,” he said in a written reply. Singh said that as of October 2023, the number of pilots trained in CAT-III operations has increased compared to the total 16%.

The minister added that as of December 2023, there were 6,191 CAT-III trained pilots, including 3,744 captains and 2,447 co-pilots.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)