Flights may get cancelled if delayed over three hours, DGCA issues SOPs

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) stating that airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, flights that are expected to be delayed beyond 3 hours. This comes following a series of complaints regarding delays and cancellations of flights.

As per the directive, airlines must provide precise real-time updates on flight delays caused by fog. DGCA also emphasized that this information must be made available on the airline’s website and passengers should also be informed through SMS, WhatsApp and email.  

DGCA also mentioned the importance of conducting effective training for airline staff at airports, ensuring they can communicate appropriately and inform passengers about any ongoing flight delays.

"In view of the prevalent fog season and adverse weather conditions, airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond a period of 3 hours with a view to obviate congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience," the DGCA said in its statement.

The aviation body also asked airlines to ensure protection of air travellers, specifically in cases of denied boardings, flight cancellations, and unexpected delays without prior notice.

"The airlines are also required to publish the reference of the CAR on the flight tickets," the regulator said.

The SOPs have been issued after many passengers highlighted significant flight delays on social media.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia assured that steps are being taken to ‘mitigate’ the situation in the near future'. He also added that all the stakeholders are working round the clock to reduce the fog-related impact.

“Yesterday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 AM to 9 AM. The authorities, therefore, were compelled to enforce a shut-down of operations for some time even on CAT III runways (CAT III runways cannot handle Zero-Visibility operations)," the minister said in an X post.

"The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem,” Scindia added.