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Airlines cancel flights over untrained pilots and crew tantrums.. and blame it on Delhi fog (India)

Foggy weather in Delhi is not the only reason airlines are keeping passengers stranded at the city airports during the year-end.

In reality, incapable pilots, non-compliant aircraft, and tantrums by crew members have hampered nearly 70 per cent of the total flight operations in the Capital over the past six days.
On December 24, Jet Airways diverted Delhi-bound flight S2 4315 as the pilots were not trained to operate it under poor weather conditions.


Untrained pilots, planes unequipped with navigation system and tantrums from the crew are said to delay more flights than fog

Similarly, Air India diverted a flight on Christmas Day as the plane was not CATIIIB compliant.
Airlines are also giving bizarre reasons for cancellation of flights. On December 26 and 28, Lufthansa cancelled international flights LH 761 and LH 736 due to Christmas celebrations.
Strange reasons


"Due to last-minute cancellations, almost 500 passengers headed for Frankfurt and Munich suffered losses. The airline gave a strange reason for these cancellations - Christmas celebrations," a senior airport official told Mail Today.

Apart from incapable pilots and ill-equipped aircraft, passengers are also reportedly facing problems due to moods of the crew.

On December 26, Air India delayed flight AI 213 following late reporting by the crew.
According to the officials, passengers were stuck at terminal-3 for hours due to non-availability of crew members.

"Bad weather in Delhi is not the actual reason for almost 70 per cent of the delayed flights. Most of the time, flights are delayed, cancelled or diverted due to airlines' own reasons. But, airlines escape easily by blaming bad weather in Delhi," a senior airport official said.
According to Delhi airport's operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), 30 flights were delayed due to bad weather in Delhi on Sunday. Similarly, 73 flights were late due to dense fog on Saturday. However, according to data accessed by Mail Today, a total of 194 flights were behind schedule on Sunday and 241 were not on time on Saturday.

Almost 164 flights in other cities had to be postponed for different reasons, including bad weather. According to a senior airport official, airlines are using small aircraft, forcing cancellations and deferments.
Untrained pilots and not-compliant aircraft are also primary reasons behind delays in winter.
The Dreamliner aircraft is not CAT IIIB compliant, and thus cannot land in dense fog, while other certified planes can.

Air India is Delhi-based, but their most famous aircraft - the Dreamliner - cannot operate in and out of the airline's hub in dense fog.
On the other hand, Air India is blaming the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not giving CAT IIIB certificate to Dreamliner aircraft.

A senior official said that DGCA had recently ordered all the airlines to deploy CAT IIIB compliant plane and crew trained to fly under low visibility conditions while operating in and out of the IGI airport during foggy hours.

The DGCA had also ordered the airlines to reschedule flights with non-CAT IIIB compliant aircraft in case visibility conditions are not favourable, but airlines are citing excuses of crew shortage, the official added.
According to a senior official, Delhi airport provides the best technology for safe landings during fog, but airlines are using weather as an excuse.

He added: "The Delhi airport is one of the finest airports, equipped with most advanced technology in the aviation industry. But, airlines are operating with untrained pilots and not CAT IIIB compliant aircraft."

Week starts with clearer skies but fog will return today
You could say Monday brought Delhi's vision back. After the blanket of fog that enveloped the Capital and NCR on Sunday night and almost entirely diminished visibility, the start of the week arrived with a clear sky and slight relief from the recent spell of biting cold.

From a season-low of 2.6 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature rose to 4.8°C on Monday, three degrees below normal for this time of the year.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 21.2°C, a notch above the season average.

According to Met department officials, visibility was as low as 50 metres at 5.30am, but rose gradually to 1,000 metres by 5pm.

"The fog was densest from 11.30pm on December 28 to 9.30am on December 29, covering almost 10 hours. But the runway visual range (RVR) was above 100 m, so flights quipped with CAT IIIB were able to operate, while the non-equipped ones were severely affected," said Dr R.K. Jenamani, Director of the India Meteorological Department office at IGI Airport.

"The Gurgaon side was heavily affected. Compared to 27-28 December, there was only a slight reduction in the density of fog. But afternoon had totally clear skies," he added.
As many as 98 trains were delayed due to the reduced visibility, with the schedule of nearly 30 flights disrupted.

According to a Northern Railways official, 10 trains, including the Mahabodhi Express, Brahmaputra Express and Swatantra Express, were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
The humidity level on Monday was recorded as high as 100 per cent, while it was 32 per cent on the lower side.

The Met department has predicted overcast conditions for Tuesday, with the possibility of moderate to dense fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 20 and 4 °C. -Mail Today in New Delhi