Due to heavy fog in Delhi, many flights were delayed and eventually cancelled. This caused the passengers many difficulties. Passengers demanded answers for the delayed flights and the lack of facilities provided to them. The matter got heated up when a video of a passenger surfaced where he attacked the pilot of an Indigo flight due to a delay of 6 hours.
Air India made a statement, saying, “ We regret the disruption of operations. Due to heavy fog in our main Delhi hub, some diversions and desynchronisation of aircraft and crew rotations happened.” The CEO of Air India, Campbell Wilson, also said that the company is trying its best to provide appropriate facilities to its passengers.
DGCA has released a new SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to handle the chaotic situation in Delhi airport and to provide appropriate facilities to the stranded passengers. The SOP states that Airlines shall be required to publish accurate real-time information regarding delays of their flights, which shall be published on the respective website of the airline, through advance information to affected passengers by SMS/WhatsApp and email; display of updated information regarding flight delays to passengers waiting at airports, and appropriate sensitisation of the airline staff at airports to suitably communicate with and continuously guide and inform passengers about flight delays.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that they have taken these steps to avoid similar situations in future. Mr Scindia also posted on X, saying, “Yesterday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 am and 9 am.” According to Mr Scindia, this decision is taken to ensure the safety of passengers, which is the most important thing in the aviation ecosystem.
