Fog, fault behind flight disruptions

A FREAK fog and a malfunctioning runway visibility gauging equipment shut down the Delhi airport for three hours on Friday morning. Flights continued to get delayed till late night, even as the fog threatened to strike again.

A FREAK fog and a malfunctioning runway visibility gauging equipment shut down the Delhi airport for three hours on Friday morning. Flights continued to get delayed till late night, even as the fog threatened to strike again.

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The chaos that followed was another reminder that the airport needs to be modernised -- and fast. The thick fog that engulfed the city around 7 a.m. took everyone by surprise. By 7.10 a.m., the runway visibility at the airport dropped below 50 metres — making it impossible for aircraft to either take off or land.

There was more bad news. Around 7.30 a.m., the scopograph — the machine that measures runway visibility range — developed a snag. The equipment is maintained by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Airport engineers did not know how to fix the fault; the IMD fared little better.