Prime Minister Narendra Modi and football star Lionel Messi were among those held up on Monday as dense fog in northern India forced the cancellation and
diversion of 228 flights connecting Delhi and delayed hundreds of others.

Poor visibility also hobbled train services with many running late across north India. Two people, including a CISF inspector, were killed and several injured on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in a multi-vehicle pileup attributed to dense fog in Haryana’s Nuh district.

Modi, who left on a three-nation tour of Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman, saw his flight put off by more than an hour. Scheduled to depart at 8.30am, he eventually boarded the plane around 9.30am after poor visibility temporarily disrupted operations.

Messi’s flight from Mumbai to New Delhi, on the final leg of his three-day GOAT India Tour, was delayed by nearly an hour because of poor weather in the capital.

Between 4.30am and 9.30am, not a single flight took off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as visibility plummeted to less than 125 metres, a limit that restricts departures.

According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the average delay was 165 minutes for arrivals, with 87 per cent of the flights landing late. The average delay for departures was 110 minutes, with 91 per cent of the flights affected.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which manages the IGIA, had said early in the morning that flights would be affected because of poor visibility.

“While landings and takeoffs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected,” DIAL said.

Category (CAT) III aircraft are equipped with an advanced instrument landing system that helps pilots land in foggy conditions.

Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet issued travel advisories to passengers to minimise inconvenience, requesting them to stay updated on flight status, given on the websites of the airlines or on mobile applications.

“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for our guests, some flights have been cancelled. We understand this may cause inconvenience, and our ground teams across airports are working round the clock to assist and support you,” Air India said.

An IndiGo spokesperson said: “Low visibility (below minimum), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control.

"Our teams are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport, in line with established safety protocols. While operations adjust to the prevailing weather, some flights may experience delays while a few others may be proactively cancelled through the day to prioritise safety and help minimise extended waiting at the airport.”

According to the India Meteorological Department, there was very dense fog (visibility less than 50 metres) at isolated pockets of eastern Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the morning.

Dense fog (visibility 50-199m) was reported from pockets of Meghalaya, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and western Rajasthan.