United Airlines cancels flights to New Delhi due to ‘gas chamber’ smog
Citing toxic smog that one official said has turned India’s capital city into a “gas chamber,” United Airlines has cancelled flights to New Delhi until the air gets better.
At least in United’s eyes, the Indian capital’s smog concerns are on par with environmental disasters like hurricanes and volcanoes — a risk to be avoided. The company said it was letting passengers switch flights without charge or helping them find seats on other carriers.
It was unclear if other airlines would follow suit. Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Etihad Airlines all compete for business to New Delhi, according to CNN Money.
An advisory on United’s website said travel to New Delhi was suspended through at least Tuesday.
“United has temporarily suspended our Newark-Delhi flights due to poor air quality concerns in Delhi and currently has waiver policies in place for customers who are travelling to, from or through Delhi,” the company said in an email.
“We are monitoring advisories as the region remains under a public health emergency, and are coordinating with respective government agencies.”
New Delhi’s air quality is consistently ranked among the world’s worst. But a perfect storm of problems is exacerbating the problem to potentially deadly levels. Farmers who’ve recently harvested crops in neighbouring states are illegally burning their fields, sending smoke into the air. Construction projects and pollution from vehicles in a city that lacks adequate public transportation are making things worse.
Last week, the smog was 10 times worse than reigning pollution champion Beijing, whose air-quality problems reached Olympic proportions. Some parts of New Delhi have pollution 40 times the World Health Organization-recommended safe level.