Dense fog forces diversion of nearly 60 flights at Delhi airport in three days
New Delhi (PTI): Flight operations continued to be impacted by dense fog at the Delhi airport for the third day on Thursday, with nearly 60 flights getting diverted and scores getting delayed during this period.
Airport sources said a total of 58 flights, the majority of them operated by domestic carriers, were diverted due to bad weather between 0000 hours of December 25 to 0600 hours of December 28.
Most of the flights had to be diverted, as the pilots were not trained to operate flights in low visibility conditions, the sources claimed.
As many as 13 flights of IndiGo were diverted while 10 flights each of Air India and SpiceJet were diverted during the period.
Among others, 5 flights of Vistara, 3 flights of Akasa Air and 2 flights of Alliance Air were diverted at the Delhi airport.
The flights were diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow and Indore, among other airports.
On Wednesday, Delhi airport issued a fog alert on social media platform X.
"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," it had said.
Kind attention to all flyers!#Fog #FogAlert #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/xR9RSv7IXW
— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) December 27, 2023
Similar alerts were issued on Tuesday also.
CAT III pertains to flight operations in low visibility conditions.
The Delhi airport is the country's largest airport and handles more than 1,300 flights daily.
In the past few days, the national capital has been witnessing dense fog, especially in the early morning hours.
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It's govt's responsibility to support youth who dare to dream: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but it can create an ecosystem for youngsters to become entrepreneurs and innovators.
It is the responsibility of the government to support youth who dare to dream, he said.
After inaugurating the 11th National Conference and Exhibition on Emerging and Innovative Trends in Engineering Technology (NCEEITET) at the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Jammu, Abdullah said, “We may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but we can certainly create an environment where our youngsters become entrepreneurs and innovators.”
The two-day conference is being organised by the GCET in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the World University Consortium (WUC).
Addressing the gathering, Abdullah assured that all necessary steps would be taken to strengthen infrastructure and support systems at the GCET, ensuring that it continues to evolve as a premier institution.
The chief minister also inaugurated a new building for the School of Architecture in the college, built at Rs 19.71 crore.
Stressing the need to balance modernity with the region’s cultural and historical identity, Abdullah said, “Not every building needs to be made of glass and steel. Our structures must reflect our heritage and preserve our cultural ethos.”
Highlighting the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Abdullah said they could significantly improve tourism management, visitor experience and service delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, he cautioned that technological advancement should complement human effort rather than replace jobs, especially in a region where unemployment remains a concern.
The chief minister said that attracting tourists to Jammu and Kashmir was not difficult, but ensuring repeat visits required consistently enriching experiences and better infrastructure across tourism segments, including pilgrimage, border and leisure tourism.
To address the infrastructure gaps in the college, Abdullah announced that funds would be provided this year for the construction of an auditorium.
He also assured support for setting up an incubation centre in GCET.
During the event, Abdullah also released the e-proceedings of the conference, comprising 28 shortlisted research papers.
