Fog wreaks airline schedules, thousands of passengers affected

New Delhi, Dec 27 (UNI) Dense fog enveloped the IGI airport last night which continued in varying degrees till sunlight tore through this morning as authorities were forced to cancel nine flights.

Eight international flights were rescheduled while 25 domestic and six international were diverted to Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Director general of civil aviation Kanu Gohain said low visibility procedures (LVP) were enforced at the airport due to fog which started setting in at 2200 hrs. Visibility became normal at 0945 hrs.

''All instrument landing systems are functioning well,'' he said.

''We're trying our best to ensure speedy flight movements. But we'll not comprimise with the safety aspect.'' The fog had reduced runway visibility reduced to less than 150 metres. Still 51 flights operated normally.

There were four domestic arrivals and 12 departures besides 16 international arrivals and 19 departures.

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