The secondary runway, which according to DGCA directions, had been reserved for landing alone, was shut down due to low-visibility around 10 pm on Saturday and remained shut till 5 pm on Sunday, adding to the airlines’ woes.

Foggy conditions forced the airport to adopt safeguard procedures on Sunday around 8 am after runway visibility dropped to 725 m. According to the norm, the airport switches to safeguard procedures when runway visibility drops to about 1300 to 1200 m. If there is a further dip then low-visibility procedures are immediately put in place.

By the afternoon, the visibility improved and low-visibility procedures were terminated around 11.45 am. Around four flights had been cancelled by then. A Delhi-bound Kingfisher flight had to be diverted to Jaipur early in the morning, as it couldn’t land in the foggy conditions. Take-offs were largely on time by the evening but landings continued to be delayed.

“Thankfully visibility conditions did not deteriorate further. All flights could easily manage using the CAT-I landing instrument,” said a DIAL spokesperson.

All airlines are equipped with the landing instrument.

Passengers do, however, stand to face problems if runway visibility dips to around 50 m. At such times, aircraft need to use the CAT-III B landing instrument, which a majority of airlines have still not invested in.

The airport itself is still not well prepared to handle foggy conditions. The secondary runway only has the CAT-I instrument and that too on one side. The primary runway has the CAT-III B equipment but it is again limited to one side.