Patna: Foggy weather and severely reduced visibility continued to disrupt flight operations at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport on Friday, forcing the cancellation of five flights and delaying several others, airport authorities said.
According to an official statement, the cancelled services included multiple IndiGo flights operating on the Patna–Kolkata, Patna–Hyderabad, Patna–Mumbai and Patna–Delhi routes. The affected flights were 6E6917/775 (Kolkata–Patna–Kolkata), 6E915/6683 (Hyderabad–Patna–Hyderabad), 6E673/5152 (Mumbai–Patna–Mumbai), 6E5008/2309 (Delhi–Patna–Delhi) and 6E6549/6550 (Delhi–Patna–Delhi).
The Patna Meteorological Centre reported that minimum visibility on Friday dropped to just 100 metres in Patna, Gaya and Valmiki Nagar. Dense fog prevailed in these areas, while light to moderate fog was recorded across other parts of the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings indicating that weather conditions are unlikely to improve in the coming days. For December 26, cold-day conditions are expected in parts of north-western, north-central and southern Bihar, with very dense fog forecast in western and central districts. Similar conditions are likely on December 27, with very dense fog expected in north-western and north-central regions.
Dense fog is forecast across most districts on December 28, while December 29 and December 30 are likely to see foggy conditions in northern, north-western and north-central Bihar, accompanied by cold-day conditions in a few districts.
Meteorologists said moderate to dense fog is likely to persist in many parts of the state over the next four to five days, continuing to affect road, rail and air travel. Passengers have been advised to check flight status before heading to the airport as weather-related disruptions remain likely through the end of the month.
