Northern India, including Bihar, was engulfed by a thick blanket of fog on Sunday, leading to severe disruptions in both air and rail services. The adverse weather conditions left thousands of passengers stranded across the state, facing uncertainty and frustration as their travel plans were thrown into disarray.
Flight Operations Hit at Multiple Airports
The dense fog significantly impacted air travel. At Patna's Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, several flights were affected. While the airport director, Chandra Pratap Dwivedi, stated that visibility was adequate for operations at the Patna airport itself, multiple flights were cancelled for operational reasons linked to the wider weather situation.
Key cancellations included an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Patna (6E-539) and another from Patna to Ghaziabad (6E-2573). In total, 15 departures and 18 arrivals were impacted at the Patna airport. A morning flight from Delhi was also among the cancellations. Passengers like Suresh Kumar, who was headed to Ghaziabad, expressed deep frustration, questioning the airline's decision-making and highlighting the personal impact of missing work.
The disruption was not confined to Patna. At Darbhanga airport, a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight was cancelled, though eight other flights operated on schedule, ferrying 2,632 passengers. In Purnia, two Star Air flights to Kolkata and Ahmedabad were cancelled, and an IndiGo flight to Kolkata was delayed by one-and-a-half hours.
Rail Network Paralysed by Cascading Delays
The rail network faced even more severe challenges. Dense fog along the critical Delhi-Kanpur-DDU-Patna mainline forced trains to operate at drastically reduced speeds for safety, causing a cascade of delays throughout the day.
The most severely affected was the premium New Delhi-Rajendra Nagar Terminal Tejas Rajdhani Express, which arrived at Patna Junction a staggering eight hours late. Several other major services were also running hours behind schedule:
- Sampoorn Kranti Express: 6 hours late
- Jansadharan Express: 5 hours 11 minutes late
- Magadh Express: 4 hours 53 minutes late
- Vikramshila Express: 4 hours 38 minutes late
- Poorva Express: 4 hours 13 minutes late
- Shramjeevi Express: 2 hours 31 minutes late
Passengers across classes complained about the lack of clear communication regarding revised timings at major stations. Railway officials emphasized that safety was the non-negotiable priority, with trains operating under strict winter protocols. Rajesh Kumar, IRCTC Patna joint general manager, confirmed that passengers on the delayed Tejas Rajdhani were provided breakfast and beverages as per Railway Board guidelines.
Safety Prioritised Amid Ongoing Winter Challenges
The widespread disruptions have highlighted the persistent vulnerability of India's transport infrastructure to winter fog. Authorities have reiterated that passenger safety takes precedence over operational convenience. Travelers have been advised to stay prepared for similar disruptions and check the latest status of their flights and trains before heading to terminals, as dense fog conditions are expected to continue across northern regions in the coming days.
