Fog leads to flight diversion, delays at Surat airport

Dense fog blanketed Surat early on Tuesday morning, causing significant disruptions to flight operations at the Surat airport.

Visibility in the area dropped to less than 100 meters, as a result of which the airport's Instrument Landing System (ILS) was inoperable for as long as one-and-a-half hours. The dense fog impacted incoming flights. It led to an IndiGo flight from Delhi being diverted to Ahmedabad. The flight from Delhi eventually landed in Surat after a delay of approximately two-and-a-half hours.

Besides, an IndiGo flight, which was to take off for Hyderabad, and two Air India flights — one bound for Bengaluru and another for Hyderabad — were delayed by as much as one to one-and-a-half hours.

The runway at Surat airport is equipped with an ILS that is capable of guiding aircraft landings in visibility as low as 800 meters, according to officials. However, the unprecedented fog cover that led to visibility dropping to less than 100 meters, severely hampered flight operations.

The subsequent disruptions that took place in flight operations at the airport began at 7 am and continued until weather conditions improved around 8.30 am.

The diverted and delayed flights impacted the travel plans of numerous passengers. The sudden fog also affected those commuting by road. The low visibility forced motorists, especially those driving on the highways to use headlights. Despite this, motorists faced difficulty in commuting, especially because of the increased possibility of accidents.