45-minute storm blows into 400-flight chaos at IGI

NEW DELHI: Flyers in and out of Delhi faced double disruption since Friday evening. First, a dust storm led to many incoming flights being diverted to other cities on Friday. Then, there were long delays in these flights finally arriving at IGI due to the main runway being shut for upgradation, triggering network-wide delays on Saturday.
Over 350 departures from IGI Airport were affected between midnight and 2pm Saturday, leaving thousands stranded. The average delay was 40 minutes, and many airlines had to cancel flights due to the scale of disruptions.
Over 40 Delhi-bound flights had been diverted due to stormy conditions on Friday. The strong thunderstorm, with winds reaching 74kmph, hit IGI around 6.30pm and created chaos.
The sudden change in wind speed impacted take-offs and landings, with Air Traffic Control suspending operations for nearly 45 minutes. The inclement weather caused a cascading effect with many flights arriving and leaving late from Friday evening to early Saturday.

On average, IGIA handles 1,300 flights and about 2 lakh passengers (domestic and international) daily. The sheer volume of passengers affected meant stranded flyers were packed like sardines with airlines unable to give clear information on when their flights would operate. “The weather-related disruption was such that despite our best efforts, there has been unavoidable inconvenience which we regret. This factor was beyond our control,” said an airline official, with other airlines issuing similar statements.
As hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours, many took to social media to complain about the chaos at the airport. Some passengers shared pictures and videos of overcrowded boarding gates. Dr Shalabh Kumar, a passenger, shared a video of a jam-packed gate at Delhi Airport’s Terminal 3 on X on Saturday at 7am. “There is utter chaos,” he said.
Aritra Mukherjee, a passenger, wrote on X that his Kolkata-Delhi flight was rescheduled for the seventh time. Another passenger, Ashutosh Anand, complained on X about the “disgraceful state of affairs with Indian aviation”. He added, “A 20-minute dust storm in Delhi has thrown the entire system into chaos. Our flight from Kolkata was diverted to Lucknow, made to wait 4 hours, then landed in Delhi, and now we’ve been stuck inside the aircraft for two hours because there’s no gate available to deboard.”
Sharing a video of a crowded boarding gate, Vipul Singh, a passenger, claimed that there was “ultra mismanagement and a stampede-like situation at Terminal 3, Delhi Airport, due to poor mismanagement.”
Delhi Airport tweeted at 11.53am on Saturday that previous night’s inclement weather significantly impacted flight operations across the country. With disruptions continuing, Delhi Airport posted an update at 5pm: “Flight operations at Delhi Airport are normal, but some airlines are still affected by last night’s weather conditions. Our teams are working hard to minimise inconvenience. Please check flight status on our website and airline websites for updates.”
IndiGo said on X Saturday afternoon: “Ongoing air traffic congestion in Delhi is causing flights to be held for takeoff and landing clearance. Due to the consequential impact, a few flights across the network are impacted too…. recommend checking flight status on our website or app for the latest information. At Delhi Airport, pre-departure formalities are being completed as we await clearance.”
On Saturday afternoon, Air India posted that air traffic congestion was continuing to hit operations. “Disruptions have a cascading impact on flight schedules, we are making every effort to manage them effectively and minimise inconvenience, but some delays or changes may still occur.”
The main runway was closed on Tuesday for about four months. IGIA has four runways, and currently, three of them are operational. Now, flight delays will be worse when changed wind direction (easterlies) leads to aircraft landing from Dwarka/Gurgaon side and taking off towards Vasant Vihar – instead of the other way round when westerlies blow. When easterlies prevail, as has often been the case since Tuesday, departures can happen from two runways and arrivals only on one.
When westerlies blow – which is mostly the case – runway 27/09 can be used in mixed mode to handle both arrivals and departures, while runway 29L and 29R are used for only arrivals and departures, respectively. So, depending on whether it’s peak arrival or departure time, two runways can be used for either during westerly time, thereby reducing delays.