Dense smog and extreme fog have severely disrupted air travel at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport this week, grounding or delaying hundreds of flights, stranding thousands of passengers and highlighting once again how North India’s toxic winter air is colliding with a busy travel season.

With visibility dropping to near-zero at times and air quality slipping into the “severe” category, airlines have been forced to cancel services, divert aircraft and operate under stringent low-visibility procedures.

More News:

Third Day of Disruptions at India’s Busiest Airport

Delhi’s primary airport has reported cascading disruptions over multiple days as a combination of thick fog and heavy smog repeatedly pushed runway visibility below operational thresholds.

Airport officials said that on Monday, around 228 flights were cancelled and at least five were diverted after dense fog settled over the capital in the early morning hours, crippling takeoffs and landings just as the day’s traffic was ramping up.

Data from airport authorities and airline advisories show that more than 130 departures and nearly 100 arrivals were scrubbed in a single day, while hundreds more services were delayed by anywhere from 30 minutes to over three hours as schedules buckled under knock-on effects.

Operations were shifted to Category III (CAT III) instrument landing procedures for much of the day, which allow landings in very low visibility but still lead to widespread delays and cancellations when the smog-fog layer thickens beyond safe limits.

The turbulence has continued into Tuesday and Wednesday, turning the disruption into one of the most serious winter weather episodes at the hub so far this season.

Aviation sources estimate that across the three-day period, flight cancellations and significant delays together have affected well over 500 movements, a major blow during what is typically a high-demand period for both domestic and international travel.

Passengers Face Long Queues, Missed Connections and Sleepless Nights

For travelers, the impact has been immediate and personal. Long lines formed at check-in counters and airline help desks as passengers scrambled to rebook flights or secure refunds.

Many arriving passengers found their onward connections cancelled at short notice, forcing them to spend unplanned nights in Delhi or reroute via other cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

Social media platforms have filled with accounts of travelers camped out on the floors of crowded terminals, families with young children waiting overnight for fresh departure slots, and business travelers watching critical meetings slip away as departure boards flashed delay after delay.

Some passengers complained of limited communication from carriers at peak disruption times, while others shared messages and emails indicating that their flights were cancelled only after they had already reached the airport.

Hotels in and around the Aerocity district near the airport reported a spike in last-minute bookings from stranded travelers, with several properties quickly reaching near-full occupancy.

Ride-hailing services also saw surging demand as passengers abandoned cancelled journeys and returned to homes or city hotels through the same foggy conditions that had grounded aircraft.

Airlines Activate Advisories and Waivers

Major Indian carriers including IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and SpiceJet issued travel advisories urging passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for security and boarding procedures in low-visibility conditions.

Some airlines offered limited fee waivers for changes or cancellations on affected routes, particularly for flights originating from or destined for Delhi during the most severe periods of disruption.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, confirmed that it had cancelled more than 100 flights in a single day due to the dense fog in and around Delhi and other northern cities.

The carrier said its priority remained safety and that operations would remain subject to prevailing visibility and air traffic control constraints. Other airlines reported significant delays across their domestic networks as aircraft and crew were displaced from their planned rotations.

International carriers using Delhi as a gateway for connections across South Asia and beyond also felt the strain, with some long-haul flights forced to hold, divert or land at alternate airports when conditions dipped suddenly.

Travel agents said they were fielding a surge of requests from foreign tourists, many of whom were unfamiliar with the intensity of Delhi’s winter pollution and its impact on aviation.

Smog Meets Fog: A Toxic Winter Mix

Meteorologists and air-quality experts say Delhi is currently experiencing a “double hit” of environmental stress: classic North Indian winter fog compounded by a lingering veil of pollution-driven smog.

While fog in the Indo-Gangetic plain is a well-known seasonal phenomenon, this year’s episode has been intensified by persistent high pollution levels that have pushed the city’s Air Quality Index into the “very poor” and “severe” bands at multiple monitoring stations.

Recent readings from the Central Pollution Control Board have shown AQI values frequently above 400 at several points across the capital, a range classified as “severe” and considered hazardous even for healthy people.

Thick particulate matter in the air not only worsens health outcomes but also interacts with natural fog, creating an opaque, stubborn haze that can hug the ground for many hours at a stretch.

According to atmospheric scientists, a combination of factors is at play: low wind speeds, temperature inversion layers that trap pollutants close to the surface, emissions from vehicles and industry, and residual smoke from agricultural stubble burning in neighboring states.

As temperatures fall overnight, moisture condenses into fog around these particles, forming a dense suspension that sharply reduces visibility along runways and approach paths.

Authorities Tighten Pollution Curbs as Travel Season Peaks

Even as aviation authorities struggle with the operational fallout, Delhi’s local and federal governments have been rolling out emergency pollution-control measures under the city’s Graded Response Action Plan, which is triggered when air quality reaches dangerous levels.

In recent days, officials have ordered restrictions on older, more polluting vehicles, mandated partial work-from-home policies for offices, and suspended most construction activity to cut dust emissions.

The measures are designed to reduce the overall pollution load during the worst of the winter smog, but their impact is often gradual, while flight disruptions are immediate.

Environmental campaigners argue that more long-term structural changes are needed, including aggressive public transport expansion, cleaner fuels, and tighter enforcement on industrial emissions, to prevent the yearly pattern of winter travel chaos and health emergencies.

For the travel and tourism sector, the timing could hardly be worse. December and early January are among the busiest months for domestic tourism, inbound international visitors and diaspora travel linked to school holidays and year-end festivities.

Tour operators say cancellations and rebookings have spiked for itineraries that rely on timely arrivals into Delhi for connections to Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and other popular winter destinations.

Travel Advice for Passengers Heading to or Transiting via Delhi

With weather forecasters warning that foggy mornings are likely to persist across the northern plains for several more days, travelers planning to fly into or out of Delhi are being urged to build flexibility into their plans.

Airlines and airport authorities recommend checking flight status frequently on official channels, registering for SMS or app notifications, and arriving early for departures, particularly for early-morning and late-night flights which are most vulnerable to visibility drops.

Travel planners suggest that where possible, passengers on tight schedules consider booking flights later in the day, when the sun often burns off the thickest fog, or routing through alternate Indian hubs during the peak of the fog season. However, such options may be limited when demand is high and seats are scarce, especially on key domestic trunk routes and popular international sectors.

Passengers with non-refundable hotels, tours or train tickets tied to specific arrival times are advised to review the fine print of their bookings and travel insurance policies. Some comprehensive policies offer limited compensation for delays or cancellations caused by adverse weather, but coverage varies widely and typically requires documentation from airlines or airports confirming the cause and duration of disruption.

Economic and Operational Strain on the Aviation Sector

The recurring winter fog and smog episodes pose complex operational and financial challenges for airlines and airports in North India. Every wave of cancellations carries direct costs in the form of crew and aircraft repositioning, fuel for holding or diversion, and customer-service expenses.

Indirect costs include damage to brand reputation and traveler confidence at a time when the aviation industry is working to sustain strong post-pandemic growth.

In recent years, Delhi’s airport and many carriers have invested in advanced navigation systems and crew training for low-visibility operations, including CAT III-compliant runways and cockpit procedures that allow landings when visibility drops to as low as 50 meters.

Yet even this technology has limits. When runway visual range falls below critical thresholds or when the cumulative effect of smog and fog makes it unsafe to continue operations, the only option is to suspend or drastically curtail movements.

Aviation analysts argue that better regional coordination, including improved fog forecasting and closer synchronization between air traffic control, airports and airlines, could help minimize disruption windows.

However, they also acknowledge that in an era of intensifying climate variability and chronic urban air pollution, some level of winter flight disruption in North India may be unavoidable without a major turnaround in environmental conditions.

FAQ

Q1. Why have so many flights been cancelled at Delhi Airport this week?
The spike in cancellations is primarily due to a combination of dense natural fog and heavy smog that has reduced visibility on runways to below safe operating minima, forcing airlines and air traffic control to suspend or sharply limit movements during key morning and night-time windows.

Q2. How many flights have been affected so far?
Airport officials and airline advisories indicate that roughly 228 flights were cancelled and several diverted on one of the worst-hit days, with hundreds more departures and arrivals delayed, and the cumulative disruption across three days affecting well over 500 scheduled movements.

Q3. Are all runways at Delhi equipped for low-visibility (CAT III) operations?
Delhi’s main runways are equipped with advanced instrument landing systems that support CAT III operations, allowing certain aircraft and trained crews to land in very low visibility, but when conditions deteriorate beyond these thresholds or fluctuate rapidly, even CAT III capabilities cannot prevent suspensions.

Q4. What time of day is most vulnerable to fog-related disruptions?
The highest risk usually occurs in the late-night and early-morning hours, from around midnight to mid-morning, when temperatures are lowest and moisture condenses, causing fog to thicken and visibility to drop sharply along approach paths and runways.

Q5. How long are these smog and fog conditions expected to last?
Meteorologists expect foggy mornings and hazy days to persist through much of December and into early January, particularly over the Indo-Gangetic plains, although the intensity can vary significantly from day to day depending on wind patterns and temperature changes.

Q6. What should travelers do if their flight to or from Delhi is cancelled?
Passengers should contact their airline as soon as possible through official customer-service channels to rebook or seek refunds, while also checking whether any weather-related fee waivers are in place, and they should keep records of notifications and receipts in case they need to file insurance claims.

Q7. Is it safer to book flights via another Indian city instead of Delhi during this period?
Routing through alternate hubs such as Mumbai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad can sometimes reduce the risk of fog-related disruption, since these airports are less prone to dense winter fog, but availability, cost and convenience will vary depending on the route and time of year.

Q8. How does Delhi’s air pollution contribute to these visibility problems?
High levels of particulate matter from vehicles, industry, construction dust and residual crop-burning smoke provide tiny particles around which moisture condenses, turning ordinary fog into a thicker, more persistent smog-fog mix that sharply reduces visibility and takes longer to dissipate.

Q9. Are authorities taking any steps to address the pollution that is worsening fog at the airport?
Local and national authorities have activated emergency pollution controls that include curbs on older vehicles, construction bans and partial remote-working mandates, but experts say these are short-term responses and that long-term structural measures are needed to significantly cut winter smog.

Q10. What practical tips can help air travelers cope with Delhi’s fog season?
Travel experts recommend booking flexible or changeable tickets when possible, avoiding tight connections through Delhi in the early morning, monitoring flight status frequently, keeping an overnight kit in carry-on luggage in case of unexpected layovers, and considering travel insurance that includes weather-related disruption coverage.