Over 100 planes delayed at IGI airport; IndiGo and SpiceJet warn customers.

Over 100 aircraft were delayed at Delhi’s airport on Friday morning owing to dense fog caused by a cold wave in north India, according to news agency PTI and an official. However, the official stated that despite the severe fog causing reduced visibility in Delhi, no planes had been diverted thus far.

“While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X at 6.35am.

The CAT III facility enables airplanes to fly in low visibility circumstances. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), administered by DIAL, handles around 1,300 airplane operations each day. Thick fog blanketed Delhi, causing airport and airline authorities to issue warnings of potential flight disruptions, as poor air quality reduced visibility to nil in certain regions. Delhi, which has been dealing with pollution and poor air quality since the beginning of winter, was named third among the world’s most polluted cities in Friday’s live rankings by Swiss organization IQAir.

On social media, IndiGo and low-cost carrier SpiceJet also warned of weather delays. By 10:14 a.m., 20 planes had experienced an average delay of eight minutes, according to aviation website Flightradar24. Some trains in the capital were also delayed, according to media reports. On Friday, New Delhi’s air quality was labeled “very poor” with an index score of 351, according to the country’s top pollution control organization, far above the “good” range of zero to fifty.