AAI conducts fog preparedness drill at Patna airport amid IndiGo cancellations
According to AAI, the exercise evaluated operational efficiency, passenger handling, and delay management during peak winter operations when visibility often drops sharply.
PATNA: On a day when four pairs of IndiGo flights were cancelled due to operational reasons, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Saturday conducted a fog preparedness dry run at Jay Prakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport to assess readiness and coordination among airport stakeholders during dense fog conditions in the winter season, said officials.
According to AAI, the exercise evaluated operational efficiency, passenger handling, and delay management during peak winter operations when visibility often drops sharply. The JPNI requires a minimum visibility of 1,000 metres for flights to operate.
Among the IndiGo flights cancelled on Saturday were one pair each from Bengaluru (6E 6451/6E 6452), Hyderabad (6E 915/6E 6683), Delhi (6E 6549/6E 6550), and Chennai (6E 678/6E 679).
The disruptions are set to continue, with eight IndiGo flights scheduled to remain cancelled on Sunday. These include services to and from Bengaluru (6E 124, 6E 6452), Kolkata (6E 663), Deoghar (6E 7945), Delhi (6E 6644, 6E 6550), and Hyderabad (6E 6683, 6E 6335), an AAI press release issued on Saturday evening said.
As many as 16 IndiGo flights were cancelled to and from Patna on Friday.
Airport director Chandra Pratap Dwivedi said the dry run was conducted in compliance with the airport’s fog preparedness standard operating procedures and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) guidelines, ensuring strict adherence to mandated protocols.
The drill involved participation from AAI, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), IndiGo, Air India, state police, and food and beverage and housekeeping agencies operating at the airport.
As part of the exercise, a briefing session was held to outline the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. An information desk was set up outside the terminal to address passenger queries, while extra seating was arranged to manage delayed check-in and boarding. Food and beverage arrangements were also reviewed and found satisfactory. A mock drill for passenger deboarding and boarding was conducted in line with SOPs, followed by a debriefing session to identify gaps and mitigation measures.
“The fog preparedness mock exercise successfully demonstrated the readiness and coordinated capabilities of personnel at the JPNI airport to manage fog-related disruptions effectively,” Dwivedi said, adding that the drill affirmed the preparedness of all agencies to ensure passenger safety, comfort, and operational efficiency during fog-induced emergencies.
