The Hindu : Front Page : Flights, trains hit hard by fog

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Sunday, Dec 24, 2006
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Flights, trains hit hard by fog

Staff Reporter

Over 50 flights delayed in Delhi and several cancelled or diverted, leaving passengers stranded at the airport for hours

HOUSE FULL: Passengers stranded in the Departure terminal of Delhi airport on Saturday morning as fog delayed many flights for hours. — PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN

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NEW DELHI: Dense fog over the Capital brought air and rail services to a standstill for much of Saturday morning. A thick blanket of fog enveloped Delhi airport grounding domestic flights for seven long hours and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. Well over 50 flights were delayed, three cancelled, and three more diverted.

The morning's first domestic flight to take off from the airport was an Indian airline flight to Bangalore at 9-15 a.m. With most airlines failing to inform early morning passengers about delays, the domestic terminal at the airport was overflowing and people literally had to fight for space to stand.

"It was like a wedding hall. There was practically no place for the passengers even to stand. The airlines did not inform the passengers in advance and many of them came to the airport only to find that their flights had been cancelled. The airlines should have at least informed the passengers travelling on the non-trunk routes. If they had, the situation at the airport in the morning would not have been so chaotic," said an airport official.

President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's flight to Mumbai was delayed by half an hour due to poor visibility. Triggering off a domino effect, the flights continued to be behind schedule through the day.

"I have been waiting for my wife since 8-30 in the morning. She was to fly in from Hyderabad, but Air Deccan has no information when the flight left. It has been over three hours and I have got no news. I am just shuttling from one counter to another," fumed Surya Prakash, a resident of suburban Faridadbad, who had left home early in the morning to be at the airport on time to receive his wife.

There were many other passengers at the airport with similar stories to share. Upset at the lack of information from the airlines, there were those who tried to ring up help line numbers but to no avail.

"I tried to call the airlines but they had no information. My flight is one hour late," complained Bharati Singh who was booked to fly to Mumbai on a SpiceJet aircraft.

Sitting outside the terminal with her bags, Priscilla Warner flying to Bagdogra had had the same experience. Her flight was three hours late, but she had got no update from her airline.

"It has been the worst day in terms of fog so far. The low visibility procedures were pressed into place at 3-30 a.m. and were suspended only after 9 a.m.,'' said an airport official.

Dense morning fog in the North Indian plains also affected movement of trains in the region. More than ten trains bound for Delhi from Eastern and Northern parts of the country were delayed in the morning, while a dozen others -- originating from Delhi -- had to be rescheduled.

The trains rescheduled included the Howrah Rajdhani, the Selaldah Rajdhani and the Howrah Janata Express.

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