Fog Disrupts Flight Operations at Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik International Airport

Flight Services Affected by Dense Fog

Bhubaneswar: On Thursday morning, operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) faced significant disruptions due to heavy fog, as reported by an airport official.

The visibility on the runway dropped drastically around 6:30 AM, leading to the diversion and delays of multiple flights, which caused considerable inconvenience for travelers.

For flights to operate safely, the runway visual range (RVR) needs to be approximately 550 meters. However, at 6:30 AM, the RVR plummeted to just 50 meters, resulting in five flights being redirected to Kolkata (two flights) and Raipur (three flights), according to BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan.

Among the diverted flights were three from New Delhi, one from Bangalore, and another from Chennai.

Additionally, flights to Dehradun and smaller aircraft heading to Jeypore, Utkela, and Jamshedpur from Bhubaneswar were also delayed due to the fog, he noted.

Visibility conditions improved after 10:30 AM, allowing one of the diverted flights to Kolkata to land at BPIA. Subsequently, normal flight operations resumed.

Pradhan mentioned that arrangements were made to assist passengers affected by the delays.

This incident marked the second day this season that fog has impacted flight operations at the Bhubaneswar airport.