Friday morning witnessed challenging visibility conditions at Pune airport, resulting in the re-routing of two flights and causing additional delays for several others.
A flight originally scheduled to arrive in Pune at 8 am from Delhi, operated by IndiGo, had to be redirected to Mumbai. Similarly, a Vistara flight from Delhi to Pune also faced redirection to Mumbai, as communicated by the airline on X earlier on Friday.
Lowest visibility in India
Sources indicated a substantial reduction in visibility to approximately 50 meters during the early morning hours, impacting the operational efficiency of both incoming and outgoing flights. Currently, approximately five arrivals, primarily from Delhi, are encountering delays, affecting a considerable number of business travelers. Furthermore, around eight departures from Pune to various cities are also experiencing delays.
The delays have understandably led to frustration among passengers. In response to a specific complaint about a delayed IndiGo flight from Pune to Bengaluru, where passengers purportedly waited inside the aircraft for over an hour, the airline acknowledged the delay. The airline attributed the disruption to inclement weather conditions in Pune.
Despite the inconvenience caused, the airline emphasized that weather-related delays are circumstances beyond their control and are not intentional. It is crucial to recognize the inherent challenges posed by adverse weather conditions and their impact on the smooth functioning of flight operations.
Vineet Kumar, Research Scientist working on ocean-cyclone interaction and changes in cyclone activity globally, informed that this fog has formed due to high moisture inflow from Bay of Bengal brought up inland by Cyclone Minimum temp to continue to run above normal in next 3 days.
He also said that among all airports in country, Pune airport is the most foggy airport on Friday morning.
