Fog disrupts air, rail traffic in north India

 The thick blanket of fog resulting in poor visibility in the winter-battered north India has affected the operation of over 300 flights, with around 260 delayed between 6 a.m. to 12 noon, Delhi airport website said on Monday.

Besides, another 50 flights scheduled for departure as well as arrival between 12-6 p.m. have been delayed as well.

Private airlines IndiGo and Vistara on Monday issued a travel advisory for their passengers saying flights to and from the national capital have been impacted due to bad weather and poor visibility.

Dense fog and eventual poor visibility have caused flight delays and cancellations across north India in the past few days.

In a tweet, IndiGo said: "#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to poor visibility in #Delhi, our flights are impacted. Do keep a track of your flight status."

Vistara also said that its flights to and from the national capital have been delayed affecting its other flights too.

"Due to dense fog and poor visibility in Delhi, arrivals/departures from Delhi are delayed with consequential impact across the network," it said.

Earlier on Monday, budget airline SpiceJet also asked its passengers, scheduled to travel to and from Delhi, to keep a track of their flight status.

"Due to bad weather at Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status," the airline tweeted.

Dense fog and bone-chilling cold continued unabated in several parts of north India, affecting normal life.

Delhi's IGI airport authorities had earlier warned that flight departures may be impacted if visibility droppped below 125 metres.

Besides, at least 30 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by up to seven hours due to the low visibility and dense fog.

Major trains like Mahabodhi Express (Gaya-New Delhi) ware reported running late by at least 10 hours.

Sampoorna Kranti Express was running late by five hours. Nanda Devi Express was running by almost four hours behind its schedule.

Vikramshila Express from Bhagalpur to Anand Vihar (Delhi) was late by five hours.

On Monday, Delhities woke up to a bone-chilling morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 2.6 degrees Celsius.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital also took a beating on Monday as it stood at 449 with particulate matter (PM) 2.5, the Met officials said.

Shambhu Mahto, a cab driver, said: "I have not seen this kind of fog for a long time. It is extremely difficult to drive in such a low visibility."

Nisha Sharma, a social media executive, who commutes daily in the Delhi Metro, said: "I could not find any rickshaw to reach the Metro station. The metro was also moving very slow due to dense fog. I reached office late by almost 2 hours." IANS