Smog disrupts flights across south India

Flights were disrupted across south India on Friday morning as smog and fog considerably reduced visibility.

At the Chennai airport, arrival and departure of flights were affected between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. as smog, caused by the burning of discarded items on the occasion of Bhogi festival, enveloped the runway.

Sources said 10 incoming flights from various destinations, including Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, were diverted to Bengaluru. Simultaneously, as many as 25 departures to destinations including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Delhi were delayed. Operations gradually resumed as visibility improved after 10 a.m. At Visakhapatnam International Airport, both incoming and outgoing flights were delayed as a fog virtually enveloped the city.

The IndiGo Bengaluru-Vizag, IndiGo Hyderabad-Vizag-Delhi, Air India Dubai-Hyderabad-Vizag and IndiGo Delhi-Vizag flights were unable to land and were diverted to Hyderabad. As in Chennai, operations resumed after weather conditions and visibility improved.

In Bengaluru, intermittent fog has disrupted flights at the Kempegowda International Airport for the past one month. Flight operations have been disrupted at least on four occasions at the runway.

(With inputs from Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam)