New Delhi: Delhi continues to face harsh winter conditions as dense fog wreaks havoc on Wednesday morning, leading to significant disruptions in flight and train services. The city's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport witnessed the delay of over 120 flights, including both domestic and international departures and arrivals. Additionally, 53 flights were canceled due to the prevailing fog and other operational challenges.
Data from the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System (FIDS) indicates that among the affected flights, 21 were international departures, 23 international arrivals, 33 domestic departures, and 43 domestic arrivals. The FIDS recorded a total of 53 canceled flights by 8 am on Wednesday, comprising 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures, and 3 international arrivals.
Meanwhile, the fog-induced delays extended to the railway sector, impacting around 20 passenger trains heading to Delhi. Northern Railways reported delays, with trains such as Puri-Nizamuddin Purushottam Express and Hyderabad-New Delhi experiencing delays of approximately 6-6.30 hours. Azamgarh-Delhi Junction Kaifiyat Express and Ambedkarnagar-Katra were also running late, with an expected delay of around five hours for their arrival.
Further delays were anticipated for the Katihar-Amritsar Express, with a projected delay of four-and-a-half hours, according to railway data. Other trains, including Rewa-Anand Vihar Express, Vasco-Nizamuddin Express, Bhopal-Nizamuddin Express, Khajarao-Kurukshetra, Amritsar-Mumbai, and Manikpru-Nizamuddin, were forecasted to arrive late by approximately 2-2.45 hours.
In addition to these disruptions, eight long-distance trains were reported to be delayed by approximately 1-1.30 hours, including Howrah-Kalka Mail, Saharsa-New Delhi Vaishali Express, Prayagraj-New Delhi Express, Muzaffarpur-Anand Vihar, Chennai-New Delhi, and Jammutawi-Ajmer.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported visibility below 200 meters in various parts of the country, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, West Rajasthan, West and East Uttar Pradesh at 5:30 am on Wednesday. The IMD also highlighted dense fog in isolated areas of Delhi, East Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam during Wednesday morning.
—Input from Agencies
