4 days Ago By Joy Sengupta
Pune: Dense fog over and around the national capital led to the delay of six flights between Pune and some north Indian cities, including Delhi, till the afternoon on Monday. One flight was diverted. Delays and diversions are expected to increase with winter setting in slowly and fog becoming frequent, said airline representatives.
Even long-distance trains headed to the northern and eastern parts of the country could be impacted, railway officials told TOI. An Air India flight (AI-852) took off from Pune around 7.54am and was to land in Delhi at 10am.
Instead, it was diverted to Jaipur. The flight took off from Jaipur at 1.42pm, landing in Delhi at 2.
22pm — information on Flightradar24 said. A statement from an Air India spokesperson, who was contacted over phone, was awaited till the time of going to press. Nishant Bhatia, who frequently travels between Pune and Delhi, told TOI that he was trying to avoid early morning and late evening flights, since these are the most affected by winter fog.
He preferred day and early afternoon flights during winters. "Red-eye flights are good considering the comparatively low fares, but I cannot afford disruptions of schedule," the businessman said. The representative of a travel company said people were mainly looking at day and early afternoon flights.
"The demand will grow, especially during the marriage season. Fares of day flights could see a spike of around 30% to 40%. At present, flight fares across different timings are more or less the same," the representative said.
Different airlines, via their social media handles, cautioned flyers about the weather condition. "Poor visibility in Delhi and some parts of northern India is affecting flight operations to and from Delhi. Guests are advised to start early for the airport, as slow traffic may delay movement.
You are requested to check your flight status before heading to the airport," Air India said. Indigo also cautioned flyers to check their flight status. Meanwhile, railway authorities said many trains, mainly from northern states, were facing delays due to the weather conditions and fog.
Public relations officer of the Pune railway division Ram Paul Barpagga said, "The fog has started to affect train movements too. Delays are happening." Pimpri resident Prashant Chauhan, who was travelling from Danapur to Pune on a special festive season train with his family, said he was finding it difficult to get food for his children.
"The train was delayed from Danapur by four hours and kept getting late. There is no pantry on the train. We are finding it difficult to order food via any app because the train is not reaching any station on time," he told TOI.
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