Flights cancelled at Srinagar airport over dense fog

Srinagar: Hundreds of passengers, including tourists remained stranded as foggy conditions forced cancellation of all scheduled flights to and fro Srinagar International airport for the second consecutive day today.

“All the incoming and outgoing flights, scheduled for the day, were cancelled due to poor visibility,” an official of the Airport Authority of India told PTI here.

He said a total of 20 flights were scheduled to operate from the airport today but the foggy conditions forced cancellation of the flights, leaving hundreds of passengers including tourists stranded.

A decision to operate additional flights to clear the stranded passengers will be taken once the weather allows normal operations, the official said, adding that passengers were informed about the cancellation.

The cancellation of the flights left the passengers fuming as they had to wait for hours together at the airport before they were informed about the decision.

“There was no clear explanation from the authorities about the cancellation of the flights. We had to wait for hours together and finally had to return,” Shafiq Ahmad, a Delhi-bound traveller said.

Airport authorities had to cancel all the 21 flights, scheduled for yesterday, due to poor visibility after a think layer of fog engulfed the valley.

The minimum temperature recorded in the summer capital Srinagar was 0.9 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological Department said.

He said a Western Disturbance (WD) is expected to hit the region on November 26 and might help end the prevailing foggy conditions.