The rate of flight cancellations due to fog has halved with only 86 flights cancelled last financial year, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation which held a fog preparedness meeting on Friday ahead of the winter season.
Total flight cancellations dropped from 124 flights out of a total of 1.36 lakh total aircraft movements in 2021-2022 resulting in a 0.09% rate of cancellations to 86 cancellations for 1.66 lakh aircraft movements in 2022-2023 leading to a 0.05% rate of cancellations, the Ministry said in a press statement.
Flight diversions also dropped from 58 from eight fog-prone airports in 2021-2022 to 14 in 2022-2023- a decline of 76%, the statement added.
There were a total 4,804 pilots trained to perform CAT II and CAT III landings in low-visibility conditions, including 2,979 Captains and 1,825 co-pilots
Friday’s meeting was attended by Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) V.K. Singh, Members of Parliament, as well as officials of the Ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India.
The DGCA monitors fog preparedness in co-ordinations with airlines and airports to minimise flight disruptions and ensure aircraft availability as well as availability of trained crew for low-visibility flight operations.
