Delhi–Lucknow flight circles 28 times, forced to turn back twice due to dense fog; passengers left stranded

LUCKNOW: An Air India Express flight from Delhi was unable to land at Lucknow airport on two separate mornings due to dense fog, leaving passengers stranded as the aircraft had to return.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8, operating flight IX2171, was unable to land on January 2 and again on January 4 due to extremely poor visibility. Over the two days, the aircraft circled above Lucknow 28 times, spending nearly three hours in the air before returning to Delhi.


On January 4, the flight departed Delhi at 5.51 am and reached Lucknow at 6.42 am. Dense fog had reduced runway visibility to just 125 metres, below the minimum required for a safe landing. The pilots kept the aircraft in a holding pattern, hoping the fog would clear. For about 78 minutes, the jet flew repeated loops over the city before finally returning to Delhi, landing at 8.55 am.

Several other flights were also delayed that morning due to the fog. A SalamAir flight from Muscat landed more than 90 minutes late, while Air India Express flights from Bengaluru and Mumbai were delayed by one to three hours. Another Delhi–Lucknow service arrived over an hour late in the afternoon.

A similar situation occurred on January 2. The same Air India Express flight left Delhi at 5.24 am and reached Lucknow shortly after 6.15 am, but visibility remained too low for landing. The aircraft stayed airborne for over 90 minutes, circling the city 17 times, before returning to Delhi, landing at 8.56 am.

These repeated diversions highlight the impact of severe winter fog on air travel in north India, with Lucknow among the worst affected cities during the season.