Kolkata: Dense fog has disrupted flight operations at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. Dense fog disrupted the movement of at least 34 flights at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport here on Friday, an official said. Friday was the second consecutive day when flight operations were disrupted due to fog.
A total of 15 flights from Kolkata to other destinations were delayed as the aircraft could not take off due to poor visibility, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.
Eight flights scheduled to arrive in the metropolis were also delayed, while seven others which hovered over the Kolkata skies had to be diverted to other airports, he said. In addition, four flights returned to parking bays from the ramp as those could not take off.
Due to the fog, low visibility procedures (LVP) were implemented at the airport at 2.10 am, the official said. Also, train and ferry services were affected in the early hours due to poor visibility.
The Air Traffic Control (ATC) implements LVP when visibility drops below 800 metres, guiding aircraft to their stands using ‘Follow-Me’ vehicles. LVP is also triggered when the cloud ceiling is below 200 feet.
Flight arrivals were affected in two phases from 4.02 am to 6.51 am and from 6.53 am to 8.16 am. Similarly, departure of flights were affected from 4.09 am to 5.49 am and from 6.48 am to 8.52 am, the AAI official said.
Flight operations resumed at 8.17 am, NSCBI Airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria said. Passengers got into a verbal altercation with airline authorities following sudden cancellation of a flight from Kolkata to Delhi this morning. Passengers complained that the flight was cancelled shortly before its scheduled departure at 5:30 am, leaving them in a lot of trouble. The cancellation triggered protests among passengers, who gathered around airline staff, asking as to why the flight was cancelled just prior to departure. The airline authorities have attributed the situation to fog and poor visibility.
Besides, 15 flights were delayed from 4.09 am to 5.49 am and from 6.48 am to 8.52 am. On Thursday alone, services of around 72 flights were disrupted due to dense fog at Kolkata airport. In view of fog, speed of trains leaving Howrah station was very slow in the morning resulting which, many suburban trains were delayed. A similar situation was experience by ferry passengers.
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