- Air India will provide proactive assistance to affected passengers and offer them easy options to reschedule or cancel their ticket at no extra cost
- Passengers of these flights will be kept updated with flight-specific advisories and offered easy options in advance to ease their travel experience
- While Delhi Airport has been equipped with Category 3 ILS or Instrument Landing System for years, most domestic airlines still don’t have the necessary pilot training or wherewithal to make use of it
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
GURUGRAM, DEC 27
As fog wreaked havoc over the national capital, Air India has announced its ‘FogCare’ initiative to help stranded passengers. The Tata-owned airline announced that all passengers flying to and from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will be allowed to reschedule or cancel their bookings at no extra cost if their flight is likely to be affected by major fog delays.
Wednesday mornings thick foggy conditions and low visibility over Northern India had led to over 100 flights being delayed or cancelled, and scores of trains running late. It also led to a pile up of over a dozen vehicles on the accident-prone Yamuna Expressway, which connects Greater Noida to Delhi, due to near-zero visibility.
The FogCare Initiative was originally introduced by Air India last winter, after the airline was transferred from governmental control to the Tatas earlier in 2022. According to this venture, passengers are given proactive assistance with easy options to reschedule or cancel their ticket at no extra cost.
“The FogCare Initiative is a sincere effort to minimise inconvenience to guests whose flights are likely to get affected by fog. It will also help maintain network schedule integrity,” said Rajesh Dogra, chief customer experience officer, Air India.
Passengers of these flights will be kept updated with flight-specific advisories and offered easy options in advance to ease their travel experience.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, very dense fog alert have been issued for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and several other states until Friday at least, with predictions of rain on New Year Eve. This is the second day of heavy fog at Delhi Airport, with Christmas Day also witnessing flight delays, though not as severe as today’s. Delhi airport authorities on Wednesday morning had already issued passenger advisories warning of flight delays and cancellations due to low visibility and low temperatures, however it is cold comfort to those who booked tickets for this peak festive season in the run up to New Year.
While Delhi Airport has been equipped with Category 3 ILS or Instrument Landing System for years, most domestic airlines still don’t have the necessary pilot training or wherewithal to make use of it. Budget airline officials feel the expensive training is not worth it for just a few days every year.
