Delhi smog skews flight schedules

Pune: The heavy smog in Delhi delayed some flights taking off from Pune to places in the north.

Sources said 10 flights, coming from and going to the northern parts of the country, were delayed causing inconvenience to passengers. Officials at Pune airport said very poor visibility at Delhi’s IGI airport due to the smog cover was the reason for the delay.

Passengers, unaware of the situation, arrived at the airport and had to wait for hours. Some passengers used the social media to complain about the delay. Airlines then sent its flyers messages about the delays.

Ajay Jadhav, an IT professional, who had to go to Jaipur, said, “My Indigo flight was at 4pm. When I arrived at the Pune airport, I got to know that the flight was delayed for half an hour. After making some inquiries, I was told the flight had not arrived from Jaipur . There were many passengers like me waiting.”

Another IndiGo flight from Pune to Bengaluru was also delayed. “The flight was scheduled for 5.50pm but was delayed by almost two and half hours. They said during the announcement that the delay was because of low visibility and air traffic congestion,” another passenger said

Zeeshan Shaikh, another working professional, said on Tuesday that his flight to Delhi had been cancelled. “I had a meeting. Today (Wednesday) too my flight has been delayed by three hours,” he said.