Delhi fog woes: Aviation Minister addresses flight disruptions and assault incident

In the midst of dense fog affecting Delhi and causing airlines to either divert or delay flights, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia provided an update on Monday regarding measures being implemented to alleviate the situation in the coming days. In addition, he informed the passengers that all relevant parties are working continuously to reduce the impact of fog-related disruptions.

Taking to social media platform “X”, Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the masses about the “force shut down of operations” owing to the dense fog situation. “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 shut-down 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,” Scindia wrote on social media X.

The aviation minister stated that the actions being taken to tackle the situation. He said that the Delhi Airport has been instructed to promptly operationalize the CAT III-enabled 4th runway, supplementing the existing CAT III-enabled runway, subject to DGCA approval. He mentioned that the DGCA will release a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for airlines to enhance communication and passenger facilitation amid flight disruptions caused by adverse weather. In addition, Scindia urged travelers to be patient with authorities during such challenging times.

Speaking on the alleged assault on an IndiGo pilot during a Delhi-Goa flight, the minister stated that such incidents of unruly behavior are unacceptable and will be strongly addressed within the existing legal framework. A video circulating on social media showed Sahil Kataria, wearing a yellow jacket, assaulting the co-pilot who was making an announcement inside the aircraft. IndiGo Airlines confirmed the assault and referred the matter to an internal committee for potential inclusion of the passenger on the "no-fly list." Subsequently, security personnel removed Sahil Kataria from the aircraft, leading to his arrest.

Over 100 flights were delayed in Delhi on Sunday, with intermittent operations resuming on Monday morning. As per Flightradar24, 168 departures were delayed and 56 cancellations were reported on Monday. The Indira Gandhi International Airport was non-operational from 4 am to 10 am on Sunday due to dense fog, causing delays and passenger dissatisfaction.