India Fog: Thousands Stranded Amid Travel Chaos as Foggy Conditions Disrupt Flights and Trains

Fog may seem to be a mundane weather phenomenon that affects morning commutes and reduce visibility in general. However, this is not the case for India in recent days as a thick fog has blanketed different parts of the country. In New Delhi, a cloud of smog was enough to impact flights and cause a chain of reaction between the Indira Gandhi International Airport and other airports across India.

Now, emerging reports indicate that at least dozens of apparent Indian passengers took to social media to vent out their frustrations against the flight cancellations and flight delays nation. This comes after India's aviation regulator asked airlines as part of an advisory to cancel flights in advance and inform their passengers about delayed flights immediately.

Aside from air travel, foggy conditions have also affected train services across India after several trains were delayed. India weather authorities predict that the dense fog will persist in Delhi and other cities in the north for several days, it was reported on Tuesday, January 16. India is currently in its winter season, which spans from December to February each year.

India's Delhi Fog

Amid India's travel chaos, the Delhi airport issued an advisory to the public, urging passengers to contact their airlines before traveling as a blanket of dense fog continues to cover the country's capital city. On Tuesday, it was reported the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is expecting the likely continuation of very dense fog conditions over North India in the next four or five days.

Reduced visibility is the main travel hazard caused by the fog that prohibits flight operations to continue. According to the IMD, some airports like the Delhi Palam and Safdarjung reported a visibility of 500 meters at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Due to the Delhi fog, approximately 30 departure flights from Delhi airport were delayed and 17 other flights were cancelled due to the foggy weather. Local reporting describes the condition as a "blinding fog" that leads to flight delays and flight diversions.

India Travel Chaos

Furious passengers, as mentioned earlier, took to social media amid the flight cancellations, delays, and diversions. On the other hand, the travel chaos has also witnessed violence inside the plane itself, as shown in a viral video.

Labelled as the "Indigo flight fight," the viral video was uploaded on YouTube and shows a passenger allegedly assaulting a pilot over the fog-related flight delay that has been going around. In the clip, the passenger on board an IndiGo Airlines flight lunged toward the plane's pilot or co-pilot, who was seemingly in the middle of announcing the disruption.

The man's flight in the video was on Sunday, January 14, but was delayed for more than 10 hours. Another video also shows that stranded passengers were seen eating food while sitting on the tarmac of Mumbai airport. Since Sunday, hundreds of domestic flights in India have been delayed due to the thick fog blanketing Delhi, according to updated reports.