Heavy fog causes severe disruption in flight operations at Chennai airport

Chennai: The heavy fog that covered the city on Tuesday caused major interruptions to flight operations at Chennai Airport.

Due to the poor visibility, it was difficult for pilots to safely take off and land, which caused many aircraft to be delayed or diverted throughout the day. Since the heavy fog persisted throughout the morning, making travel difficult for many, passengers were encouraged to check with their airlines for updates and timetables.

More than 15 planes leaving Chennai have been delayed, while six aircraft have been rerouted to Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad, according to airport authorities.

The unexpectedly thick fog caused a total of over 25 arrivals and departures to be interrupted, which caused substantial problems and irritation for travelers.

A British Airways aircraft carrying 317 people from London was one of the flights that was diverted to Bengaluru. Additionally, a 252-passenger Oman Airlines aircraft from Muscat was diverted to Bengaluru. Two IndiGo flights were diverted to Thiruvananthapuram: one from Pune with 152 passengers and another from Hyderabad with 162 passengers.

Meanwhile, a 148-passenger Air India Express aircraft from Kuwait was unable to touch down in Chennai and continued to circle the sky.

Flights to places including Delhi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Thoothukudi, Vijayawada, Andaman, London, and Singapore that were supposed to leave Chennai were also delayed.

Because of the heavy fog, travelers are advised to check the status of their flights on Air India and IndiGo flights.

The IMD regional weather bulletin cautioned that mist and haze will likely predominate in isolated areas of Telangana and Tamil Nadu in the morning. In isolated areas of interior Karnataka, morning fog or mist is expected to be shallow to moderate.

Early in the morning, residents awoke to heavy fog that made it difficult to see. Flight delays and sluggish traffic were caused by the poor visibility.