Cancel Flights Late By Over 3 Hours, Focus On Passenger Safety: Minister To Airlines

Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Wednesday urged the airlines to communicate with passengers about potential delays or cancellation due to visibility issues and cancel flights that are late by more than three hours, underscoring importance of "passenger-centric approach and passenger safety".

Three out of four runways at the Delhi Airport have activated CAT III ILS systems, which ensures secure landings even in situations of extremely poor visibility. The Minister was chairing a high-level review meeting on fog preparedness.

The decision comes after 14 flights were diverted and many were delayed at the Delhi airport on Monday as bad weather conditions in the national capital resulted in poor visibility impacting aircraft operations.

"All the airlines have confirmed adherence with DGCA guidelines to deploy CAT II/III compliant aircraft and pilots in Delhi and other fog affected airports. Three out of four runways at the Delhi Airport have activated CAT III ILS systems," read a statement from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Broadly, CAT III trained pilots are allowed to take off or land planes at very low visibility conditions.

"In addition, the Delhi Airport operator has been advised to install LED screens at prominent locations to provide real time updates on visibility conditions and to increase the availability of 'Follow Me' vehicles to guide aircraft during low visibility situations," said the statement.

Airlines have been instructed to let passengers know in time about potential delays or cancellations due to visibility issues and cancel flights if they are late by more than three hours.

"The Minister has also instructed airlines to proactively communicate with passengers about potential delays/cancellations due to visibility issues and to ensure that correct passenger contact information is recorded during ticket booking. And the flight has to be cancelled if the delay is exceeding 3 hours," the statement added further.

"Acknowledging the need for operational efficiency during peak hours. Minister directed that all check-in counters be fully staffed to minimise passenger inconvenience. He also emphasised the importance of adhering to DGCA guidelines during delays/cancellations and at the same time ensuring passengers are timely informed. Our priority during any such delay/cancellations is proper facilitation of the passengers," it added.