Flight from Bangalore to Delhi turns back midway, passengers remain on board for hours
BANGALORE: More than 90 passengers flying with Go Air from Bangalore to Delhi on Thursday night had a harrowing time. Passengers flying on the Bangalore- Delhi GA - 264 flight were stuck on board for more than five hours. The flight, which was scheduled to take off at 9.30 pm on Thursday finally took off at 1.30 am on Friday.
But, midway to its destination, the plane had to turn back to Bangalore due to fog in Delhi. The flight, which landed in Bangalore at 3.55 am, was finally cancelled at 6 am. Passengers had meanwhile remained on board. A Go Air spokesman said, “Passengers were accommodated on other available flights”.
Thousands of passengers travelling to and from Delhi were stranded at airports across India due to fog on Friday. With the visibility of the runway at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi reduced to as low as 75 metres, the airport had to be closed for 20 minutes in the morning, affecting over 40 flights.
“For nearly three hours there were no domestic arrivals at the airport,” said a spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
Around 20 flights were diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and Bangalore. As a cascading effect, all airlines registered an average of two-hour delays across India. Flights to and from Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata were also hit as a result.
Authorities initiated safety and low visibility procedures (full runway lights, spacing between aircraft) from midnight until 9.20 am during which the airport was engulfed by fog. However, delays continued throughout the day.
“Passengers were provided with additional seating and trolleys to carry their baggage inside terminal buildings,” said a DIAL spokesperson. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 14.9 degrees Celsius on Friday.
The India Meteorological Department has said the capital would witness light fog on Saturday morning as well.
