Aviation minister shares fresh action plan on fog-related flight delays

“We have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports,” civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday issued fresh standard operating procedures in wake of fog-related delays that have caused flight disruptions and chaos at airports.

Passengers await at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on a cold winter morning, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Several flights get delayed and a few get canceled due to fog in several parts of the country. (ANI)

In a post on social media platform X, the minister wrote,"In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines."

"1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.

2. Implementation of the @DGCAIndia Directives, SOPs and CARs will be monitored and reported regularly.

3. ‘War Rooms’ will be set up by airports and airline operators at the 6 Metro Airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy.

4. Sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock.

5. RWY 29L at @DelhiAirport has been made CAT III operational today.

6. Operationalization of RWY 10/28 as CAT III at Delhi Airport after re-carpeting will also be undertaken".

On Monday, Scindia in an X post had said that steps were being taken to ‘mitigate the situation in near future’, adding that all stakeholders were working round the clock to minimise the fog-related impact.

“The DGCA will issue an SOP for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations & delays due to adverse weather," the aviation minister had said.

The minister had also reacted to the incident involving a passenger punching an IndiGo pilot on board an aircraft. ““Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions,” he had said.

The passenger named Sahil Kataria has been declared ‘unruly’ and handed over to law enforcement agencies, IndiGo had said in a statement. The airline had said an internal panel had been set up for appropriate action and inclusion of the passenger on 'no-fly list'.