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Thick winter fog has once again thrown air travel across northern India into disarray, with IndiGo joining SpiceJet and Air India in issuing urgent travel alerts that warn of delays, cancellations and rapidly deteriorating visibility.

As dense fog settles over key hubs such as Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Chandigarh, airlines and airport authorities are bracing for several days of disruption at the height of India’s busy winter travel season.

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Airlines Move Into Fog-Season Emergency Mode

On January 10 and 11, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India all pushed out coordinated advisories cautioning passengers that early morning fog was likely to affect visibility and flight operations at multiple airports across northern India.

IndiGo’s advisory highlighted a broad swathe of affected cities, including Delhi, Patna, Dehradun, Jaipur, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Hindon, Jammu, Lucknow and Udaipur, warning that visibility could “reduce suddenly” and disrupt operations during the critical morning hours.

SpiceJet issued similar alerts for January 11, flagging poor visibility and bad weather at Delhi, Jammu, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Patna, Guwahati, Ayodhya, Darbhanga, Srinagar and Bagdogra, and cautioning that all arrivals, departures and their consequential flights could be impacted.

Earlier, the airline had also warned of weather-related disruption at Darbhanga, Hyderabad, Udaipur and Patna, underscoring how quickly the fog belt can widen in a single day.

Air India, which has been preparing since December for the officially declared fog window from December 10, 2025 to February 10, 2026, has repeatedly reminded passengers that dense fog and low visibility in Delhi and other northern hubs can create “ripple effects” across its national and international network. The carrier has activated a dedicated Fog Care program that allows eligible passengers on affected flights to reschedule or seek full refunds without penalties.

For travelers, the combined effect is a patchwork of rolling delays and cancellations that can shift with each new forecast. Airlines are emphasizing that safety remains paramount when visibility drops below established minima, and that some flights may be proactively cancelled rather than risk unsafe operations or prolonged on-board holds.

North India’s Winter Weather Tightens Its Grip

The latest round of travel alerts comes amid an intense cold wave gripping large parts of north India. The India Meteorological Department has issued yellow alerts for Delhi and surrounding regions, warning of dense to very dense fog conditions during the early morning and late night hours. In the capital, minimum temperatures slipped close to 4 degrees Celsius this weekend, among the coldest January readings in recent years, while visibility at Palam and other observation points has fallen at times to around 50 meters or less.

States across the northern plains are reporting similar conditions. Punjab and Haryana have seen minimum temperatures hovering between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius, with several cities, including Amritsar and Hoshiarpur, occasionally recording near-zero visibility at dawn. In Bihar, operations at Patna airport have been repeatedly hit as fog pushes visibility below the safe threshold for arrivals and departures. Farther north and west, parts of Jammu and the western Himalayan foothills are battling a combination of fog in the plains and snowfall at higher elevations.

The Airports Authority of India has already cautioned that dense fog and the prevailing cold wave are likely to cause delays at multiple airports across north and central India as the season progresses. Authorities are urging passengers to allow extra buffer time to reach airports, prepare for possible schedule changes and follow real-time instructions from their airlines.

Delhi and Key Regional Hubs Bear the Brunt

At the heart of the disruption lies Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the country’s busiest aviation gateway and the main hub for IndiGo and Air India, as well as a critical base for SpiceJet. When a thick layer of fog settles over the capital in the early hours, the impact cascades quickly: morning departures are delayed or held, incoming flights are diverted, and crews and aircraft fall out of their planned rotations for much of the day.

Recent mornings have seen waves of delays and cancellations in Delhi as visibility dropped below the operational minima for certain aircraft and crews, despite the presence of advanced low-visibility landing systems on some runways. While newer aircraft equipped for CAT III operations can land in very low visibility when paired with appropriately trained crews, not all aircraft or crews can use these procedures, and even those capable must suspend operations when visibility falls to near zero.

Beyond Delhi, regional hubs such as Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Jammu are struggling with similar patterns. Short bouts of zero or near-zero visibility in the pre-dawn hours force airports to temporarily suspend movements. When operations resume, the backlog of delayed departures and arrivals strains parking bays, gates and air traffic capacity, leading to further knock-on delays even after conditions improve.

Because many domestic flights are routed through Delhi or another northern hub at some point during the day, disruptions in the morning fog window can reach far beyond the immediate region, affecting passengers traveling between southern, western and eastern Indian cities as well as those connecting to or from international services.

How IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India Are Responding

Each of the three airlines has adopted slightly different strategies to manage the fog season, but all are working from the same basic playbook: prioritize safety, reduce passenger uncertainty and protect the broader schedule from cascading disruption. For IndiGo, the country’s largest domestic carrier by market share, this has meant issuing detailed advisories on social media and via direct customer communication whenever dense fog is forecast for Delhi and other northern airports.

In mid-December, when a particularly severe fog spell struck Delhi, IndiGo told passengers that visibility had “reduced drastically,” forcing the airline to proactively cancel some flights to minimize extended waiting at airports. The carrier has reiterated that its teams monitor conditions “minute by minute” overnight and during the critical early morning hours, making real-time decisions on whether to proceed, delay or cancel based on evolving forecasts and air traffic control guidance.

SpiceJet, which operates a mix of domestic and regional routes, has relied heavily on pre-emptive advisories that list specific airports where bad weather and poor visibility are likely to impact flights on a given day. Its alerts repeatedly highlight the possibility that “all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get impacted,” and urge passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.

Air India, meanwhile, has layered its Fog Care initiative onto its broader operational measures. The airline says it has strengthened its crew rostering to ensure adequate pilots trained in low-visibility operations are on duty for the fog window, positioned additional trained crew on standby and coordinated closely with airports to ready aircraft and ground systems. Alongside this, its customer care teams have been expanded and tasked with proactively reaching out to passengers via SMS, email and messaging platforms when delays or cancellations are likely.

What Passengers Can Expect in the Coming Days

With meteorological forecasts pointing to persistent dense fog over the northern plains at least through January 12, and the official fog window lasting into February, travelers should be prepared for continued disruption, particularly on early morning and late-night departures and arrivals. Airlines are cautioning that even on days when skies may look clear by mid-morning, temporary suspensions or restrictions on operations at dawn can trigger a string of delays that last into the afternoon.

Passengers traveling to or from Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jammu and other fog-prone airports should expect heightened schedule volatility. Last-minute gate changes, extended boarding times and holding patterns in the air are all possible when visibility suddenly improves or worsens. Travelers connecting between domestic and international flights through Delhi are especially vulnerable to missed connections if inbound flights from northern cities are significantly delayed.

Airports and airlines are also warning that road conditions around major hubs can deteriorate in heavy fog. Slower traffic on highways leading to Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh or Patna airports could add 30 minutes or more to normal travel times, particularly during the morning rush. This raises the risk that passengers who do not allow enough buffer time may miss flights that manage to depart on schedule between fog episodes.

On the positive side, heightened preparedness from both airlines and airport operators appears to be reducing some of the worst operational chaos seen in earlier years. Investments in low-visibility systems, more rigorous crew training and predictive rostering, as well as clearer passenger communication, have helped keep some services running, even if at reduced capacity.

Practical Advice for Travelers Caught in the Fog

For passengers, the most important tool during a fog-disrupted travel day is information. Airlines are unanimous in urging travelers to check their flight status repeatedly in the hours before departure, using official airline apps, customer service channels or airport information systems. Status can shift from “on time” to “delayed” or “cancelled” quickly as updated visibility readings reach operations control centers.

Travelers whose journeys are not time-critical may wish to consider shifting early morning flights to mid-day or afternoon departures when forecasts indicate that fog usually lifts. Many carriers, including Air India through its Fog Care scheme, are temporarily relaxing change and refund penalties for flights directly impacted by fog-related disruptions. Even where formal waivers are not in place, customer care teams may be able to assist with rebooking options.

Passengers should build in ample ground time, especially if traveling with children, elderly relatives or those with medical needs. Given reports of travelers waiting on board aircraft for extended periods in previous fog waves when conditions changed suddenly, it is advisable to carry essential medications, water, snacks and warm clothing in cabin baggage. Power banks and offline copies of bookings or identity documents can also help navigate crowded airports where connectivity may be patchy.

Travel insurers and corporate travel managers are watching the situation closely. Some policies treat fog-related cancellations and missed connections as covered events, provided documentation from the airline is available. Business travelers in particular are being encouraged to review their coverage, stay flexible with meeting times and build virtual fallback options into itineraries.

Broader Impact on India’s Winter Travel Season

The current wave of fog-related disruption comes at a peak moment in India’s domestic travel calendar. January combines the tail end of holiday travel with pilgrimage, business resets and winter tourism to destinations such as Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Hotels, tour operators and local transport providers report a mixed picture as some travelers delay or cancel trips, while others simply arrive late after rerouted journeys.

Rail networks have also reported heavy delays, particularly in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where dense fog has forced trains to slow down significantly or temporarily halt. This has pushed some travelers who might otherwise have taken trains toward last-minute flight bookings, further straining airline capacity at short notice. Bus services along key corridors in north India are likewise grappling with reduced speeds and night-time suspensions.

For tourism-dependent cities such as Varanasi, Jaipur and Amritsar, the fog season is now an annual operational challenge rather than a rare anomaly. Local authorities are working with airports and airlines to better manage visitor flows, while hotel operators are increasingly building flexible check-in policies and contingency activities into their offerings for guests who arrive late.

At a policy level, the recurring disruption has renewed calls for accelerated rollout of advanced navigation and landing systems at more regional airports, expanded air traffic management capacity during low-visibility operations and greater public awareness of seasonal travel risks. The experience of the 2025–26 fog window is likely to feed into planning for future winters as India’s aviation market continues to expand.

FAQ

Q1. Why are so many flights in northern India being delayed or cancelled right now?
Dense winter fog combined with a strong cold wave has reduced visibility at major airports such as Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh and others, often below safe operating minima. When visibility drops too low, flights cannot take off or land, forcing airlines to delay or cancel services to protect passenger safety.

Q2. Which airlines have issued specific travel alerts about the current fog conditions?
IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India have all issued travel advisories warning of possible delays and cancellations across northern India. They have highlighted Delhi and a number of regional airports where early morning fog is expected to affect operations.

Q3. How long is this period of heavy fog expected to last?
The India Meteorological Department and aviation regulators identify an official fog window from early December to early February, but the most intense fog episodes usually occur in late December and January. Current forecasts suggest dense fog over the northern plains at least through January 12, with intermittent episodes possible beyond that.

Q4. Are only early morning flights affected, or can afternoon and evening flights be disrupted too?
Fog tends to be worst in the late night and early morning hours, so those flights are most at risk. However, when morning operations are disrupted, the resulting backlog of delayed aircraft and crews can cause knock-on delays well into the afternoon and evening, even after visibility improves.

Q5. What steps is IndiGo taking to manage fog-related disruptions?
IndiGo has issued detailed travel advisories, is monitoring weather conditions minute by minute, and has said it may proactively cancel some flights to avoid long on-ground waits. The airline is using its app, website and customer communication channels to keep passengers updated as situations change.

Q6. What is Air India’s Fog Care initiative?
Air India’s Fog Care program is a set of customer-focused measures activated during the fog season. It includes identifying flights likely to be affected by fog, proactively informing passengers of potential schedule changes and offering options such as complimentary rescheduling or full refunds without penalties in eligible cases.

Q7. How can I reduce my chances of getting stranded at the airport?
Check your flight status repeatedly before leaving home, build in extra travel time to the airport, especially in foggy conditions, and consider booking flights outside the usual fog peak window if your plans allow. Keeping essential items in your cabin baggage will also make unexpected waits easier to manage.

Q8. What should I do if my flight is cancelled because of fog?
If your flight is cancelled, contact your airline through its official app, website, customer care number or airport desk to explore rebooking or refund options. Many carriers are offering flexible policies during the fog season, but terms can vary, so you should review the specific conditions attached to your ticket.

Q9. Will travel insurance cover fog-related delays and cancellations?
Coverage depends on your specific policy. Some travel insurance plans treat weather-related disruptions, including fog, as covered events, while others may exclude them or apply limits. It is important to read your policy carefully and retain documentation from the airline if you plan to file a claim.

Q10. I have an international connection through Delhi. What precautions should I take?
If you are connecting through Delhi during the fog season, try to allow a longer layover than usual to accommodate potential delays on your inbound domestic flight. Monitor both legs of your journey closely, keep in touch with your airline and, if possible, have a backup plan such as flexible hotel or meeting arrangements at your destination.