Delhi fog disrupts New Year travel; 148 flights cancelled, several premium trains hit

Delhi fog

• Dense fog in Delhi NCR disrupts flights and trains on New Year's Eve
• 148 flights cancelled and over 250 delayed at IGI Airport due to poor visibility
• More than 80 trains delayed by up to 12 hours across north India

Did our AI summary help?

Dense fog blanketed Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on the final day of 2025, with ‘very poor’ air and rail services and disrupting New Year travel plans for thousands of passengers.

Poor visibility led to large-scale flight cancellations and delays at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, while train services across north India also faced major setbacks.

Flights cancelled, delayed at IGI Airport

A total of 148 flights were cancelled at Delhi’s IGI Airport on Wednesday due to dense fog conditions. These included 78 arriving flights and 70 departures. In addition, more than 250 flights were delayed, causing long waiting hours for passengers at the airport.

Major airlines such as IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet issued travel advisories, asking passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport. Many travellers reported rescheduled flights, missed connections and long queues at terminals as the fog slowed operations.

The Delhi airport authorities said flight operations were being conducted under CAT III conditions, a system used during very low visibility. In an early morning advisory around 6 am, the airport said dense fog could lead to delays or cancellations.

Later, in an update issued around 11 am, the airport authorities said visibility had started improving but warned that some flights could still be affected.

Train services severely affected

Rail services were also badly hit due to poor visibility across north India. Several premium trains were delayed by long hours. The Ayodhya Cantt Vande Bharat, Lucknow Swarna Shatabdi and Varanasi Vande Bharat trains were running more than 11 hours late, The Daily Jagran reported.

More than 80 trains arriving in Delhi, including Rajdhani Express trains from Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Sealdah, Dibrugarh, Mumbai and Rajendra Nagar, were delayed by 2 to 12 hours. Several departing trains from the capital also faced delays, leaving passengers stranded at railway stations.

Visibility drops across NCR

Early morning visibility fell sharply as a dense layer of fog settled over the region. Commuters reported slow traffic on major roads, while train services were also impacted at several stations due to low visibility.

The IMD said foggy conditions are likely to persist over the next couple of days, along with chances of light rain, which may further affect visibility during early morning and late-night hours.