Northern India’s notorious winter fog hit critical mass on 23 December, dropping visibility at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport below 100 metres and triggering 270 flight delays and 10 cancellations by early afternoon. Airlines including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet issued blanket waivers, urging passengers to re-book or check real-time status.
Although IGIA is CAT-III-equipped—allowing landings in visibility as low as 50 metres—operations still slow dramatically because taxiing, take-offs and crew duty-time limits become choke points. Average departure delays hit 29 minutes, according to Flightradar24, but some international services to London, Singapore and Dubai were held on tarmac for more than two hours.
![Dense Fog Grounds Delhi: 270 Flight Delays, Holiday Itineraries In Tatters]()
For business travellers racing to year-end meetings—or expatriates heading home for Christmas—the disruptions pose cascading risks: missed connections, visa over-stays in transit hubs and additional hotel costs. Travel-management companies recommend building a 6-to-8-hour buffer for any onward international leg via Delhi this week, and routing critical cargo through Mumbai or Bengaluru where possible.
Amid such uncertainty, VisaHQ can be a lifesaver for travellers who find themselves at risk of overstaying visas or needing last-minute transit documents. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers rapid application processing, real-time status updates and expert guidance, enabling passengers delayed by the fog to extend, amend or secure alternative visas before penalties accrue.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said it is reviewing contingency plans, including staggered slot allocations and faster remote-stand turnaround procedures, but acknowledged that meteorological constraints limit throughput. Corporates with mobility programmes should activate travel-disruption clauses and advise travellers on 24-hour hotline support, given forecasts of continued fog through 26 December.
Although IGIA is CAT-III-equipped—allowing landings in visibility as low as 50 metres—operations still slow dramatically because taxiing, take-offs and crew duty-time limits become choke points. Average departure delays hit 29 minutes, according to Flightradar24, but some international services to London, Singapore and Dubai were held on tarmac for more than two hours.
For business travellers racing to year-end meetings—or expatriates heading home for Christmas—the disruptions pose cascading risks: missed connections, visa over-stays in transit hubs and additional hotel costs. Travel-management companies recommend building a 6-to-8-hour buffer for any onward international leg via Delhi this week, and routing critical cargo through Mumbai or Bengaluru where possible.
Amid such uncertainty, VisaHQ can be a lifesaver for travellers who find themselves at risk of overstaying visas or needing last-minute transit documents. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers rapid application processing, real-time status updates and expert guidance, enabling passengers delayed by the fog to extend, amend or secure alternative visas before penalties accrue.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said it is reviewing contingency plans, including staggered slot allocations and faster remote-stand turnaround procedures, but acknowledged that meteorological constraints limit throughput. Corporates with mobility programmes should activate travel-disruption clauses and advise travellers on 24-hour hotline support, given forecasts of continued fog through 26 December.
