Dense fog disrupts flight operations at Kolkata airport for second consecutive day

Dense fog disrupted the movement of at least 34 flights at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport here on Friday, an official said.

A total of 15 flights from Kolkata to other destinations were delayed as the aircraft could not take off due to poor visibility, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.

Eight flights scheduled to arrive in the metropolis were also delayed, while seven others which hovered over the Kolkata skies had to be diverted to other airports, he said.

In addition, four flights returned to parking bays from the ramp as those could not take off.

Due to the fog, low visibility procedures (LVP) were implemented at the airport at 2.10 am, the official said.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) implements LVP when visibility drops below 800 metres, guiding aircraft to their stands using ‘Follow-Me' vehicles. LVP is also triggered when the cloud ceiling is below 200 feet.

Flight arrivals were affected in two phases from 4.02 am to 6.51 am and from 6.53 am to 8.16 am. Similarly, departure of flights were affected from 4.09 am to 5.49 am and from 6.48 am to 8.52 am, the AAI official said.

Flight operations resumed at 8.17 am, NSCBI Airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria said.

According to officials at the airport, some passengers created a ruckus at the terminal building after a private airline cancelled its flight.

Friday was the second consecutive day when flight operations were disrupted due to fog.

On Thursday, flight operations at the Kolkata airport were disrupted due to dense fog, affecting the movement of at least 72 flights.