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Chennai Airport Cancels Flights Amid Heavy Fog; Low Visibility Procedures Enacted

Severe fog at Chennai International Airport led to drastically reduced visibility, prompting the implementation of Low Visibility Procedures early Wednesday. The conditions forced the cancellation of several IndiGo flights, including arrivals from Kochi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, as well as outgoing services. Airport authorities stated operations continued under controlled procedures despite the visibility dropping to as low as 300 metres. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for the latest information as disruptions may persist.

Key Points: Chennai Airport Flight Cancellations Due to Severe Fog

  • Severe fog cuts visibility to 300m
  • Low Visibility Procedures implemented at 6:00 am
  • Multiple IndiGo arrivals and departures cancelled
  • Passengers advised to check with airlines for updates
2 min read

Chennai Airport cancels flights amid heavy fog; Low Visibility Procedures in effect

Severe fog disrupts Chennai Airport, triggering Low Visibility Procedures and multiple IndiGo flight cancellations. Check airline updates.

"all cancellations were due to the poor weather and low visibility conditions at Chennai - Airport officials"

Chennai, January 14

Severe fog and poor visibility affected operations at Chennai International Airport early Wednesday, leading to the implementation of Low Visibility Procedures and the cancellation of several flights.

According to airport weather data, visibility remained stable at around 4,000 metres from midnight until 1:00 am, before gradually deteriorating. By 4:00 am, visibility had dropped to 2,000 metres, prompting airport authorities to declare a visibility standby.

Safeguarding procedures were initiated shortly afterwards at 4:45 am as conditions continued to worsen. By 5:30 am, visibility had reduced to 1,000 metres, and Runway Visual Range (RVR) for Runway 07 fell to 1,200 metres. Conditions deteriorated further by 6:00 am, when visibility dropped to 800 metres and RVR to 900 metres. As a result, Low Visibility Procedures were officially implemented at 6:00 am.

The situation became most severe between 7:00 am and 8:00 am, when visibility plunged to just 300 metres, with RVR at 400 metres. Despite these challenging conditions, airport authorities stated that flight operations continued under LVP and were reported as being under control.However, the bad weather forced the cancellation of several flights scheduled for later in the day.

Among the arrivals, three IndiGo A321neo aircraft were cancelled due to bad weather at Chennai. These include: Flight 6E0571 from Kochi, scheduled to arrive at 4:05 pm; Flight 6E6096 from Mumbai, scheduled to arrive at 6:05 pm; Flight 6E6017 from Bengaluru, scheduled to arrive at 7:40 pm.

In addition, three outgoing IndiGo flights were also cancelled. These include: Flight 6E6058 to Mumbai, scheduled to depart at 12:55 pm; Flight 6E0447 to Kochi, scheduled to depart at 1:05 pm; Flight 6E0847 to Bengaluru, scheduled to depart at 4:45 pm.

Airport officials confirmed that all cancellations were due to the poor weather and low visibility conditions at Chennai.

Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines for updates, as fog-related disruptions may continue if weather conditions do not improve.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Safety first, always. Better to be delayed or cancelled than to have an accident. The MET department and ATC did the right thing by implementing LVP. Passengers should understand that nature is beyond anyone's control. Hope everyone stays safe.
D
David E
Visiting Chennai for business. Impressed with the detailed reporting on RVR and visibility metrics. Shows a professional approach to handling adverse conditions. My flight was delayed but the announcements were clear. A respectful criticism: the seating areas could be better for stranded passengers.
A
Ananya R
This kind of fog in January is becoming more common, no? Climate change is real, yaar. Authorities need to invest in more advanced landing systems for our major airports to minimize such disruptions in the future.
K
Karthik V
My colleague was supposed to arrive from Kochi for an important meeting. Now we have to reschedule everything last minute. It's a chain reaction of problems. Airlines should proactively offer hotel vouchers or rescheduling options, not make passengers fight for them.
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Sneha F
Good to see the procedures were followed step by step as visibility dropped. That's how it should be. Passengers, please check flight status online before leaving for the airport on such mornings. Saves a lot of hassle! 🙏

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