Chaos at Indira Gandhi Airport
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — The thick fog which engulfed the Capital and adjoining areas for more than a week, disrupting air, rail and road traffic, threw a spanner in the plans of a large number of people headed for their homes in North India, including Punjab, during the Christmas holidays.

The thick blanket of fog which lifted this morning, failed to lift the spirits of several harried passengers who could not go for holidays with the airlines schedule going haywire.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport witnessed chaotic scenes. Hundreds of Punjabis returning from various destinations in the West, particularly the USA, UK and Canada, were upset as they had to "waste" several days waiting for connecting flights.Similarly, those who planed visiting their relatives in the West during the Christmas holidays felt disappointed.

Mr Jaswinder Singh Dhillon (72), said "We had taken a train from Ambala for Delhi. "The train was running late so we thought we would definitely miss our flight. However, on reaching the airport we found that our flight which was coming from Dhaka had been diverted and now we are stuck here till the fog clears".

Those coming from abroad for holidays were upset that they would be able to spend fewer days with their family members. "In a year, we barely get two weeks off. On arriving in India, I wasted time in Mumbai instead of enjoying with my family members in Ludhiana. It is frustrating, to say the least," says Mr Harmeet Singh, a computer software professional, settled in Boston, USA, on arriving in Delhi.

The plight of passengers, specially of the old and infirm, is worse as there is little information on when the flights will take off and they have to spend long hours in the airport lounge.Those with small children have a difficult time as there are no adequate facilities for children them at the airport.

The advanced landing system (Category II), which enables a pilot to land an aircraft even if the visibility is down to 350 metres, is likely to be commissioned next year. The Category II landing system entails that pilots not only have to be certified to land under bad weather conditions, but they must also renew their ratings every three months.

Among the Delhi-bound passengers who have been stranded at the Mumbai airport due to the fog cover over the city is the victorious hockey team which won the gold at the recently concluded Asian Games.