Severe winter fog in North India has caused major flight disruptions, with an Air India Express aircraft forced to abandon its landing attempts in Lucknow on two consecutive days and return to Delhi after circling the city for hours.
Two Mornings of Failed Landing Attempts
The airline's Boeing 737 MAX 8, operating as flight IX2171 from Delhi, faced identical challenges on January 2 and January 4. On both mornings, pilots found runway visibility at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport dangerously low, making a safe landing impossible. The aircraft was compelled to turn back to the national capital on each occasion.
A Gruelling Three-Hour Aerial Ordeal
The cumulative toll on passengers and crew was significant. Over the two days, the jet spent nearly three hours in a holding pattern above Lucknow, completing a staggering 28 circles in the sky before giving up.
On January 4, the flight took off from Delhi at 5:51 AM and arrived near Lucknow by 6:42 AM. However, visibility had plummeted to a mere 125 metres, far below the minimum safety threshold. The pilots kept the aircraft airborne for approximately 78 minutes, hoping for the fog to lift, but eventually had to return, touching back down in Delhi at 8:55 AM.
A similar scenario had unfolded just two days prior. On January 2, the same flight departed Delhi at 5:24 AM and reached Lucknow airspace shortly after 6:15 AM. With visibility remaining poor, the plane circled the city 17 times for over 90 minutes before heading back to Delhi, where it landed at 8:56 AM.
Widespread Fog-Related Disruptions
The incident was not isolated. On the morning of January 4, dense fog caused a cascade of delays at Lucknow airport affecting multiple carriers:
- A SalamAir flight arriving from Muscat landed more than 90 minutes behind schedule.
- Air India Express services from Bengaluru and Mumbai were delayed by one to three hours.
- Another flight on the Delhi-Lucknow route arrived over an hour late in the afternoon.
These repeated diversions starkly highlight the crippling impact of severe winter fog on air travel across northern India. Cities like Lucknow are particularly vulnerable during the season, facing frequent operational challenges that lead to passenger inconvenience and significant schedule meltdowns.
