Bhubaneswar: A Mumbai–Varanasi Air India flight had to be diverted to Bhubaneswar on Friday morning due to poor visibility at Varanasi airport.
Airport sources said that the flight en route to Varanasi was forced to abandon its landing attempt due to a sudden and severe drop in visibility caused by heavy fog, prompting air traffic control to authorise a diversion to Bhubaneswar. The airline has arranged for accommodation and necessary assistance for stranded passengers as per aviation norms.
Heavy fog enveloping large parts of northern India has severely impacted air travel, leading to numerous flight diversions, cancellations, and prolonged delays across major airports.
Some pilgrims from Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Cuttack also found themselves stranded at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA). The 50 passengers were to travel from Bhubaneswar to Delhi with Air India and then take a connecting flight to Jeddah. They arrived at the airport around 8 am and were scheduled to take the flight at 9.45 am.
Sources said that two Bhubaneswar-Delhi — one operated by Air India and another by IndiGo — have been cancelled. Additionally, three outbound flights from Bhubaneswar to Varanasi, Guwahati, and Hyderabad have also been called off.
With dense fog engulfing Delhi and northern India, IndiGo has issued a travel advisory warning passengers of potential delays and revised flight timings. The airline has cancelled more than 100 flights with 53 flights specifically at Delhi Airport, including 27 departures and 26 arrivals.
Flight operations at Delhi airport are being managed under CAT III conditions, the PTI reported.
