Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Jan 14: As a precautionary measure ahead of the Bhogi festival, flight operations at Chennai International Airport witnessed limited disruptions on Wednesday, with eight flights cancelled and ten others operating with delays ranging from one to three hours due to the possibility of smoke haze and early-morning fog.
Airport authorities, however, clarified that passengers were not significantly inconvenienced as airlines had informed them well in advance about the cancellations and rescheduled departures. Officials also noted that the anticipated dense smoke and fog did not materialise this year, ensuring smoother operations than initially expected.
Disruptions during Bhogi celebrations have been a recurring issue at Chennai airport over the years. In 2018, as many as 118 flight services were affected due to heavy smoke caused by Bhogi bonfires, while in 2024, a total of 51 flights were impacted by smoke and fog.
Keeping past experiences in mind, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had rescheduled flight operations between 4 am and 8 am on Wednesday. Around 30 flights had their arrival and departure timings revised, with passengers alerted through text messages well ahead of time.
Bhogi, observed a day before the Pongal festival, traditionally involves burning old household items. In residential areas surrounding the airport — including Meenambakkam, Gowl Bazaar, Pozhichalur, Pammal, Anakaputhur, Thoraipakkam, Manapakkam and Nandambakkam — burning of discarded plastic waste, tyres and other materials in the early hours often leads to dense smoke, severely affecting visibility near the runway.
On Wednesday, four outbound flights — to Pune (3.05 am), Coimbatore (6.35 am), Mumbai (7.15 am) and Delhi (8.00 am) — were cancelled. Similarly, four inbound flights from Delhi (5.20 am), Mumbai (6.35 am), Pune (7.10 am) and Coimbatore (9.10 am) were also cancelled.
Several flights were delayed as part of the precautionary plan. Departures to Vijayawada, Thoothukudi, Visakhapatnam, Muscat, Andaman, Bengaluru and Tiruchirappalli were delayed by one to three hours. Inbound flights from Singapore, Muscat and Kuala Lumpur also arrived behind schedule.
Despite the precautions, airport officials confirmed that as of 7 am, there was no significant smoke haze or fog reported in the airport vicinity, and flight operations continued largely smoothly.