Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 14 (ANI): Severe fog and poor visibility affected operations at Chennai International Airport early Wednesday, leading to the implementation of Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) 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)