New Delhi: Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday announced a six-point action plan to combat fog-induced disruptions to domestic and international commercial flight operations, which have resulted in the delay or cancellation of hundreds of flights. In a post on X, Mr Scindia outlined new SOPs, or standard operating procedures, issued to airlines to “mitigate passenger inconvenience”
In addition to these, the Union Minister said the centre had daily reports from all six metro airports, as well as reports into implementation of Directorate General of Civil Aviation directives.
“‘War rooms’ will be set up by airports and airline operators at all six metros to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy,” he said, “Sufficient CISF (Central Industrial Security Force, which handles security at airports) manpower will be ensured round-the-clock.”
In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.
1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (मोदी का परिवार) (@JM_Scindia) January 16, 2024
According to Mr. Scindia, Runway 29L at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has been upgraded to CAT III status, meaning that takeoffs and landings can now occur there even in situations involving heavy fog.
Runway 10/28, the airport’s oldest runway, was closed for maintenance last year following the G20 Summit in Delhi. He stated that the runway, which is also classified as CAT III, would soon be operational.
Mr. Scindia had also taken to X on Monday, to the indignation of passengers, as IndiGo and other airlines, including the national carrier Air India, struggled with bad weather-related schedule delays and poor communications.
Pointing to “unprecedented fog” in Delhi on Sunday – that meant visibility “dropped to zero between 5 am to 9 am” – the Aviation Minister appealed for patience as his ministry takes addresses issues.
He said the decision to suspend flight ops at Delhi airport – over 100 services were either cancelled or delayed on Sunday and more than 150 on Monday – was taken “keeping passenger safety in mind”.
He had said then that SOPs “aimed at enhancing communication and passenger facilitation” would be issued to all airlines soon. “It is my earnest request to bear with us in this difficult period,” he said.
Additionally, Mr. Scindia denounced as “unacceptable” any instances of violence aboard aircraft. He was alluding to horrifying events that transpired on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa; following a flight delay of more than ten hours, a passenger attacked the captain. Sahil Kataria, the passenger, was taken into custody and released on bond.
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