Trouble in the air: Monday’s chaos reflects poorly on India’s airports and airlines

The irony could not be starker. On the day the Directorate General of Civil Aviation released data showing domestic air passenger traffic at an all-time high of 152 million passengers in 2023, over 100 flights from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were delayed and at least 20 cancelled due to dense fog leading to zero visibility for a few hours. The disruptions at the country’s largest airport had a cascading effect even in other cities. While certain delays cannot be avoided, what was concerning was the absolute lack of preparedness on the part of airlines and airports even though fog is an annual affair during these times in the National Capital Region.