Disruption in flight ops in Chennai as ''Bhogi'' smoke affects visibility

Flight operations at both the international and domestic terminals here were suspended for about two and a half hours on Sunday morning as the Bhogi smoke affected visibility, airport officials said. Airport authorities had also appealed to people living near the airfield to avoid burning waste as the resultant smog could affect visibility and flight operations.

Flight operations at both the international and domestic terminals here were suspended for about two and a half hours on Sunday morning as the 'Bhogi' smoke affected visibility, airport officials said. Both arrivals and departure of flights were disrupted, leading to diversions, delay and cancellations, they said.

Three international flights, scheduled to land here were diverted to Hyderabad. A domestic flight from Delhi was also re-routed to the Telangana capital. Four domestic flights (Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram) were cancelled. However, the impact on air traffic due to burning of waste was relatively minimal this year in view of sensitization and precautionary measures, they said. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said that due to high humidity, 'low wind speed leads to poor visibility.' The Air Quality Index value ranged between moderate (AQI-131, the minimum value observed) to poor (AQI-270, the maximum seen) in localities that were observed. The Air Quality Index value on the day of Bhogi was almost the same when compared to previous years.

Due to the awareness programmes by TNPCB, other government departments and NGOs, the burning of waste materials like rubber tyres, tubes, and plastics have considerably reduced on the day of Bhogi, the TNPCB said in a press release. In the morning, dense fog covered Chennai and several other parts of the state, leading to disruptions in vehicular movement. Due to very poor visibility, a flower-laden truck met with an accident near the Maduravoyal bypass here. Bhogi is celebrated on the eve of harvest festival 'Pongal.' People burn domestic waste in keeping with tradition to welcome a new beginning.

Days ago, the TNPCB held an awareness campaign on the perils of burning plastic and rubber materials. Airport authorities had also appealed to people living near the airfield to avoid burning waste as the resultant smog could affect visibility and flight operations.