Nagpur's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport has witnessed a startling operational disruption over the past month. The total number of flights cancelled has surpassed the airport's entire daily flight schedule, highlighting significant challenges for air travelers.
Pilot Crisis and Dense Fog: A Double Blow
The airport, which typically handles over 30 flights each day, has seen an average of four cancellations daily. The troubles began with the IndiGo Airlines pilot roster crisis that started on December 5 and lasted for a week. Even after this issue was resolved, a new problem emerged: persistent fog in Delhi.
This weather phenomenon at the national capital has become the primary reason for nationwide flight cancellations, according to airport sources. The cascading effect of Delhi's disruptions significantly impacts aircraft deployment across the country, including at Nagpur.
IndiGo Cuts Schedule, Specific Routes Suspended
As a direct consequence of these events, IndiGo Airlines has reduced its overall flight operations. From Nagpur, the airline has cut its daily flights to Delhi from six to just four. The situation remained critical as recently as a Thursday, when four IndiGo flights connecting Nagpur to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bengaluru were cancelled.
While most other flights were expected to resume by Friday, the airline took a more drastic step for one route. IndiGo has suspended its Nagpur to Bengaluru flight until January 27. Airlines have officially cited "operational reasons" for most cancellations, though sources indicate last-minute changes are often attributed to weather challenges.
The Technical Challenge of Delhi's Fog
The core of the problem lies in Delhi's foggy conditions and the technical preparedness required to handle them. Delhi airport has four runways. While three are Category III compliant—allowing landings with visibility as low as 50 meters and take-offs at 125 meters—one runway remains under Category I, requiring 500 meters of visibility.
During dense fog, this one runway becomes unusable. However, having a Category III runway is not a complete solution. The aircraft must be specially equipped, and crucially, the pilot must be Category III compliant. Airlines need to strategically deploy these certified pilots on fog-affected routes and morning flights, a resource requirement that not all carriers can consistently meet.
The ripple effect was starkly visible on a single Thursday, with three arrivals and eight departures cancelled at Delhi airport alone, which in turn triggered more cancellations nationwide, severely affecting connectivity for cities like Nagpur.
