Aviation Minister Shares Plan To Tackle Flight Delay Issue At Delhi Airport

Amid the severe fog conditions in Delhi, forcing the airlines to divert or delay their flights, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday shared "the steps being taken to mitigate the situation in the near future." He also reassured people that all stakeholders are "working round the clock to minimize the fog-related impact."

"Yesterday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 AM to 9 AM. The authorities, therefore, were compelled to enforce a shutdown of operations for some time even on CAT III runways (CAT III runways cannot handle Zero-Visibility operations). The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem," he said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He then explained the steps being taken to mitigate the situation in the near future. "Delhi Airport has been asked to immediately expedite the operationalization of the CAT III-enabled 4th runway (in addition to the existing CAT III-enabled runway) to the satisfaction of the DGCA, in order to get approvals."

"The DGCA will issue an SOP for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations & delays due to adverse weather," he added.

The Union Minister then requested travellers to bear with the authorities "during this difficult period".

Noting the unruly behaviour of the passenger where he assaulted a pilot on a Delhi-Goa Indigo flight, he said, "Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions. I would like to assure everyone that all stakeholders are working round the clock to minimise the fog-related impact."

The said passenger was arrested after he hit a pilot when he was making an announcement regarding a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport. A purported video of the incident, which took place Sunday evening, surfaced on social media and showed Sahil Katariya, in a yellow jacket, hitting the pilot as he was making the announcement inside the aircraft.

In a statement, the airline said Katariya "assaulted" the co-pilot and that the matter had been referred to an independent internal committee for the inclusion of the passenger on the "no-fly list".