Passengers traveling through Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPI) encountered significant travel chaos on Friday as a thick blanket of fog over several parts of the country caused a domino effect of delays. Despite clear skies in Ahmedabad, the airport became a victim of rotational delays originating from other major hubs where visibility dropped critically low.
Scale of the Disruption: Domestic Flights Bear the Brunt
The impact was substantial, with at least 40 flights experiencing delays. A detailed breakdown reveals that 21 of these were departing flights, while 19 were arrivals. The domestic network felt the maximum strain, accounting for 34 of the delayed services. Key routes connecting Ahmedabad to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bhubaneswar were all affected. International operations were not spared either, recording a total of six delays. These included departures to Gulf destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and arrivals from Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, and Kuala Lumpur.
Root Cause: A Clear Ahmedabad, But a Foggy Network
Airport authorities clarified that the root of the problem was not local weather. Ahmedabad itself enjoyed clear conditions. The disruption stemmed primarily from poor visibility in Delhi and Hyderabad, two of the nation's busiest aviation hubs. Dense fog in these cities severely slowed down aircraft movements, leading to missed take-off and landing slots.
An airport source explained the cascading effect: "Once aircraft are delayed at their origin stations, the impact is felt across subsequent sectors. These rotational delays inevitably spill over to airports like Ahmedabad, even when local weather is clear." This network-wide ripple effect meant that an aircraft scheduled to arrive from a fog-hit city and then depart from Ahmedabad was already behind schedule before its Ahmedabad leg began.
Airlines Issue Advisories, Urge Passenger Vigilance
Major airlines proactively communicated with passengers about the widespread weather issues. IndiGo issued multiple travel advisories, warning that low visibility continued to affect operations at Hyderabad and several cities across North India. The list included Varanasi, Udaipur, Jammu, Visakhapatnam, and Jaisalmer. The airline advised travelers to expect possible delays and cancellations, urging them to check their flight status regularly via the airline's website or app. They also highlighted the availability of rebooking or refund options for affected passengers.
Similarly, SpiceJet flagged operational challenges due to fog in multiple locations, specifically naming Udaipur, Patna, Guwahati, and Varanasi. The advisory served as a caution for passengers to plan accordingly and stay updated on their flight's real-time status. The situation underscored the vulnerability of India's highly interconnected aviation network to concentrated weather disturbances in key regions, leaving passengers in otherwise clear-weather cities to face the consequences of delays hundreds of miles away.
