A dense blanket of smog over Delhi once again brought air travel to a grinding halt, with at least 61 flights cancelled and more than 400 delayed as visibility at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport dropped sharply. The disruption rippled through India’s busiest aviation hub, affecting domestic and international passengers alike, grounding aircraft, and throwing carefully planned schedules into disarray. Even global football icon Lionel Messi’s reported travel plans linked to promotional engagements in India were impacted, underscoring how severe pollution episodes in the national capital now routinely disrupt not just daily life, but high-profile international events as well.
Visibility plunges, airport operations strained
Airport officials said flight operations were severely affected during early morning and late-night hours when smog combined with fog to reduce runway visibility to dangerously low levels. Despite the availability of advanced landing systems, several flights could not be operated safely, leading airlines to cancel services pre-emptively. Others were forced to hold, divert, or delay departures, causing cascading disruptions across airline networks.
Passengers described chaotic scenes inside terminals, with long queues at help desks and repeated announcements of revised departure times. Many flyers, including families, elderly passengers, and business travellers, spent hours waiting for updates, while some chose to cancel trips altogether amid uncertainty.
Airlines cited safety as the primary concern. While IGI Airport is equipped with CAT III Instrument Landing Systems that allow landings in low visibility, not all aircraft and crews are certified to operate under such conditions. As a result, airlines selectively grounded flights or delayed operations until conditions improved.
A familiar winter crisis returns
Delhi’s winter smog has become an annual phenomenon, driven by a toxic mix of vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, construction dust, and smoke from crop residue burning in neighbouring states. Weather conditions during winter—low wind speeds and temperature inversion—trap pollutants close to the ground, causing air quality to deteriorate rapidly.
On the day of the disruptions, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in several parts of the city slipped into the “severe” category. Visibility dropped to just a few hundred metres at times, making normal flight operations nearly impossible during peak pollution hours.
Aviation experts note that while airlines and airports have adapted to some extent, the scale of disruptions appears to be growing each year as pollution episodes become more intense and prolonged.
Passengers bear the brunt
For passengers, the cancellations and delays translated into missed connections, postponed business meetings, and disrupted holiday plans. International travellers faced particular difficulties, as delayed inbound flights affected onward connections to Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North America.
Airlines issued advisories urging passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport. Some carriers offered waivers on rescheduling fees and refunds for cancelled flights, though many travellers complained that alternative seats were limited due to the high volume of affected services.
“I was supposed to fly out early morning, but my flight was cancelled at the last minute,” said one passenger. “The next available seat was almost 24 hours later. With hotels fully booked, it turned into a very stressful experience.”
Messi’s plans also affected
Among those impacted by the smog-related disruptions were reported travel plans involving football superstar Lionel Messi. While details of his itinerary were not officially confirmed by organisers, sources indicated that flight scheduling challenges caused by poor visibility forced changes to planned movements linked to promotional or event-related appearances.
The mention of Messi highlighted the wider consequences of Delhi’s pollution crisis. If even tightly managed, high-profile travel arrangements can be disrupted, it raises serious questions about the city’s preparedness to host major international events during peak pollution months.
Airlines struggle to manage knock-on effects
Aviation analysts explained that when flights are cancelled or delayed at a major hub like Delhi, the effects are felt nationwide. Aircraft and crew rotations are thrown off schedule, leading to secondary delays at other airports. This domino effect can last for days, especially during peak travel seasons.
Low-cost carriers, which operate on tight schedules with quick turnarounds, are particularly vulnerable. Full-service airlines also face challenges, especially with international flights that must comply with strict slot timings at foreign airports.
Ground staff, air traffic controllers, and pilots worked extended hours to restore normalcy once visibility improved, but by then, much of the day’s schedule had already unravelled.
Health crisis meets infrastructure limits
The repeated disruption of flights due to smog is not just an aviation issue—it reflects a broader public health and infrastructure challenge. Medical experts warn that air pollution at severe levels poses serious health risks, particularly to children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions. Prolonged exposure can lead to long-term health consequences, making the cost of pollution far greater than delayed flights.
Infrastructure upgrades alone, experts argue, cannot solve the problem. While airports can invest in better navigation systems and airlines can train more crews for low-visibility operations, there are physical limits to what technology can overcome when air quality deteriorates beyond safe thresholds.
Calls for long-term solutions
Environmentalists and policy analysts say the recurring aviation disruptions should serve as a wake-up call for stronger, coordinated action to tackle Delhi’s pollution. Measures such as stricter vehicle emission norms, better public transport, effective control of construction dust, and sustainable solutions for crop residue management are often discussed, but implementation remains inconsistent.
Without structural reforms, they warn, the city will continue to face repeated shutdowns—on roads, in schools, and now increasingly in the skies.
Waiting for clear skies
As the smog slowly lifted later in the day, flight operations began to stabilise, but the backlog of delayed and cancelled services meant that normal schedules took time to resume. For thousands of passengers, the episode was another reminder of how deeply air pollution has woven itself into daily life in Delhi.
With winter far from over, airlines, travellers, and event organisers alike remain on edge, hoping for clearer skies—but bracing for more disruption as the capital battles yet another season of toxic air.
