This winter you may not have to wait endlessly on board planes to take off at the foggy Delhi Airport | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a huge relief for passengers this year, they will not be allowed to stay cooped up in planes for hours waiting for poor visibility to improve at Delhi airport before their plane can take off. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued a new circular that “enables the smooth return of passengers stranded on aircraft due to weather conditions or technical delays, minimizing inconvenience and facilitating smoother boarding when flights resume. A similar exercise is also being conducted by concerned stakeholders,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Wednesday.
The endless wait on planes at foggy airports like Delhi’s IGIA, waiting for poor visibility to improve, has been one of the biggest complaints from passengers for several winters. Previous airlines did not allow passengers on delayed flights to disembark as it required them to pass through security checks again before boarding, further exacerbating flight delays as the plane lost its starting spot on the waiting list. Passengers were thus kept on board so that the plane could begin taxiing as soon as it was cleared to take off as the fog lifted. Hopefully that should change this winter with the amended BCAS rule.
This decision was part of several steps taken on Wednesday Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu assessed “the early onset of fog/smog in NCR” to ensure “uninterrupted operations and better passenger comfort.” “Presided over a high-level meeting on Wednesday to ensure that Delhi airport is ready for the winter season. With a passenger-centric approach, our preparations for the winter challenges are on track,” he said on X (former Twitter).
Taking a “passenger-centric approach,” he called for “real-time coordination between air traffic controlairlines, ground handlers and airport operators to ensure seamless operations,” the ministry said in a statement.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief DC Sharma had last week directed airlines to deploy CAT III compliant aircraft and crew for evening to morning flights in and out of Delhi and other airports that have a CAT III Instrument Landing System (ILS) facility. “All airlines have confirmed that they are adhering to the DGCA guidelines for deploying CAT II/III compliant aircraft and pilots at Delhi and other fog-affected airports. Three of the four runways at Delhi airport have activated CAT III ILS systems,” the statement said.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has “recommended installing LED screens at prominent locations to provide real-time updates on visibility conditions and increase the availability of ‘follow me’ vehicles to guide aircraft during low visibility situations” , the report said.
Naidu has asked airlines to proactively communicate with passengers about possible delays and cancellations due to visibility issues and ensure that correct passenger contact details are captured while booking tickets. “And the flight must be canceled if the delay is more than three hours… The priority for such delays/cancellations is to properly facilitate the passengers,” it said.
He also “indicated that all check-in counters would be fully staffed to minimize inconvenience to passengers” during peak hours. The meeting was attended by Aviation Secretary Vamlunmang Vualnam, who spent several hours at IGIA late Monday evening to assess the situation, and other senior officials from DGCA, BCAS, Met department DIAL and airline representatives.
“Preparations for managing visibility-related challenges this winter are moving in the right direction and good progress has been made in resolving the bottlenecks. The ministry is committed to comfortable air traffic with as little disruption as possible,” the statement said.