Delhi flight news: Jyotiraditya Scindia announces more steps to deal with fog-related disruptions at 6 metro airports

In recent days, there have been reports of a customer assaulting an IndiGo pilot at the Delhi airport and passengers of an IndiGo flight lingering on the Mumbai airport tarmac due to significant flight delays caused by fog.

Passengers await at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on a cold winter morning in New Delhi, as several flights get delayed and a few get canceled due to fog in several parts of the country. (ANI Photo)

Delhi Flight Delays News: Amid fog-related flight cancellations and delays, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia remarked on Tuesday that sufficient CISF manpower should be available at airports around the clock. Furthermore, the civil aviation ministry has directed Delhi, Mumbai, and four other metro airports to report events three times each day, and these airports, as well as airlines, would establish 'war rooms' to address customer concerns.

In recent days, there have been reports of a customer assaulting an IndiGo pilot at the Delhi airport and passengers of an IndiGo flight lingering on the Mumbai airport tarmac due to significant flight delays caused by fog.

In light of this, the aviation regulator DGCA released a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Monday, after Scindia stated that all stakeholders are working around the clock to reduce fog-related disruptions.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Scindia said the civil aviation ministry has sought "incidence reporting thrice daily for all the six metro airports namely - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.

He wrote: "In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.

1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.

2. Implementation of the
@DGCAIndia
Directives, SOPs and CARs will be monitored and reported regularly.

3. ‘War Rooms’ will be set up by airports and airline operators at the 6 Metro Airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy.

4. Sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock.

5. RWY 29L at
@DelhiAirport
has been made CAT III operational today.

6. Operationalization of RWY 10/28 as CAT III at Delhi Airport after re-carpeting will also be undertaken."

In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.

1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.

2.… https://t.co/346YXjxGdH

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 16, 2024