Bhubaneswar: Dense fog brought Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport to its knees on Thursday, grounding flights and leaving passengers stranded. Only one flight took off amid the thick pea-soup fog, while several others remained stuck on the runway.
According to reports, five flights were diverted due to poor visibility, with three heading to Raipur and two to Kolkata. The affected flights originated from Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
According to Bhubaneswar Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan, the visibility was as low as 50 meters at 6:30 am, making it impossible for flights to take off. Typically, flights require a minimum visibility of 550 meters to operate safely.
The fog has caused delays in several flights, including the Bhubaneswar-Dehradun flight, which departed at 10 am instead of its scheduled 6 am time. Passengers are advised to check their flight schedules before heading to the airport, as the fog is expected to persist.
