In January 2024, major airports across India witnessed severe flight disruptions owing to bad weather conditions induced by smog. Hyderabad ended up playing host to international flights diverted from several destinations, including Singapore, London, Kuwait and Colombo. This, while the airport itself reported challenges in take-off and landing due to low visibility. Meanwhile, Chennai airport’s visibility dropped to as low as 100 metres, causing the cancellation of several flights across major cities in India.
This fiasco has raised serious questions about the status of the existing Instrument Landing System (ILS) and installation of advanced technologies across the major airports in the country.
