The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday has come out with a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) amid a series of flight delays in the winter season.
What has the DGCA said?
The DGCA has urged airlines to ensure the timely and accurate publication of real-time information on flight delays. Additionally, the DGCA emphasised the importance of sensitising airport staff to effectively communicate with passengers during disruptions caused by fog at airports. The passengers should be continuously guided about flight delays.
This comes in light of a considerable number of flight delays and cancellations, with passengers experiencing challenges.
The watchdog said that given the prevalent fog season and adverse weather conditions, “airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond a period of 3 hours with a view to obviate congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience”.
The official release said that the SOPs have been released considering the disruptions caused by fog and adverse weather conditions at several airports, including Delhi airport. These disruptions have caused “delays, cancellations and inconvenience to passengers”, the release said.
These SOPs came in hours after Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related disruptions in flight operations
(With PTI inputs)