North India’s first severe fog spell of the winter led both IndiGo—India’s largest airline—and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) to issue back-to-back travel advisories for 19 December. Passengers flying to or from Delhi and Varanasi were told to expect delays and possible cancellations as visibility dropped below 100 metres during the pre-dawn rush.
IndiGo’s operations-control centre said CAT-III instrument-landing procedures were in force but turnaround times would lengthen as crews waited for safe visibility minima. The carrier advised corporate travellers to build extra buffers into same-day meeting schedules and to use the airline’s mobile-app notifications rather than third-party trackers for live updates.
IGI Airport separately warned that knock-on delays could cascade across its 1,300-flight daily schedule. Logistics firms moving time-critical cargo—pharmaceuticals and express parcels in particular—were urged to shift shipments to night-freighter slots or consider trucking to regional airports such as Jaipur.
![Dense fog triggers nationwide travel alerts; IndiGo and Delhi IGI warn of flight disruptions on 19 December]()
Travellers whose itineraries or visa validity might be squeezed by these weather-driven disruptions can tap VisaHQ for rapid assistance. From securing urgent extensions on Indian e-Visas to arranging fresh permits for rerouted connections through third countries, the platform simplifies paperwork and keeps compliance hiccups at bay—start at https://www.visahq.com/india/ to explore options in minutes.
For global-mobility teams the disruption underscores the value of winter-weather contingency plans. Multinationals with expatriate assignees in the National Capital Region should remind employees to check flight status before heading to the airport and to keep Human Resources informed of any extended layovers that could affect visa over-stay calculations.
The India Meteorological Department projects a second fog wave later this week. Airlines are reallocating wide-body aircraft with better low-visibility capability to Delhi routes, but capacity remains tight as holiday travel peaks.
IndiGo’s operations-control centre said CAT-III instrument-landing procedures were in force but turnaround times would lengthen as crews waited for safe visibility minima. The carrier advised corporate travellers to build extra buffers into same-day meeting schedules and to use the airline’s mobile-app notifications rather than third-party trackers for live updates.
IGI Airport separately warned that knock-on delays could cascade across its 1,300-flight daily schedule. Logistics firms moving time-critical cargo—pharmaceuticals and express parcels in particular—were urged to shift shipments to night-freighter slots or consider trucking to regional airports such as Jaipur.
Travellers whose itineraries or visa validity might be squeezed by these weather-driven disruptions can tap VisaHQ for rapid assistance. From securing urgent extensions on Indian e-Visas to arranging fresh permits for rerouted connections through third countries, the platform simplifies paperwork and keeps compliance hiccups at bay—start at https://www.visahq.com/india/ to explore options in minutes.
For global-mobility teams the disruption underscores the value of winter-weather contingency plans. Multinationals with expatriate assignees in the National Capital Region should remind employees to check flight status before heading to the airport and to keep Human Resources informed of any extended layovers that could affect visa over-stay calculations.
The India Meteorological Department projects a second fog wave later this week. Airlines are reallocating wide-body aircraft with better low-visibility capability to Delhi routes, but capacity remains tight as holiday travel peaks.
