CHENNAI: Dense fog blanketed the city and its suburban areas from 6.30 am on Sunday, severely impacting air travel and causing significant disruptions at Chennai International Airport.

Low visibility on the runway forced multiple incoming flights to divert and caused extensive delays for departures.

Due to the rapidly deteriorating visibility, five inbound flights were unable to land in Chennai and were diverted to alternate airports after holding for extended periods in the air.

The affected services include the IndiGo service from Mumbai with 157 passengers, the Akasa Air flight from Mumbai with 149 passengers, the IndiGo flight from Kuala Lumpur with 180 passengers, the Air India Express flight from Bengaluru with 164 passengers and the IndiGo flight from Hyderabad with 162 passengers.

These flights were ultimately redirected to airports in Bengaluru and Tirupati following directions from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Chennai.

The disruption also cascaded to outgoing flights. Over ten departures from Chennai to key destinations like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Andaman, and Tiruchy were delayed, with authorities warning the number could rise if fog conditions persist.

Passengers at the airport were facing considerable hardship, with many stranded due to the uncertain schedules. Officials stated that visibility at the airport dropped sharply from 1.5 km in the early morning to just 350 metres by 6.30 am and further down to 150 metres by 7.30 am.