By Neeraj Kumar
Patna: The dense fog and mist enveloping Bihar have significantly disrupted flight operations at Patna Airport. In response, a revised winter flight schedule has been introduced, suspending 10 pairs of flights scheduled for early morning and late-night operations until 31 December.
Among the changes, the direct flight connecting Patna and Guwahati has been suspended, while a new service linking Patna to Bhubaneswar is set to commence from 15 December. However, Indigo’s Chandigarh-Patna-Bhubaneswar route will cease operations on the same date. Similarly, the Indigo flight connecting Kolkata and Patna has also been halted.
The Patna-Delhi route is facing disruptions, with a flight from Patna to Delhi removed from the schedule. Additionally, the Bangalore-Patna flight, which was scheduled to depart at 9:00 pm, has been cancelled until the end of the year.
The updated winter schedule includes the operation of 12 pairs of flights to Delhi, three to Mumbai, two to Bengaluru, and three to Hyderabad. Two pairs of flights each will connect Patna to Ahmedabad and Kolkata, while single pairs will operate on routes to Ranchi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Pune, Deoghar, and Chennai.
The first flight of the day, operated by Air India, will now arrive at Patna Airport from Delhi and depart for Delhi at 10:35 am. Flights scheduled to arrive before 7:00 am have been cancelled. The airport will now handle operations starting from 9:00 am daily, aiming to minimise the impact of fog on flight safety and scheduling.
Passengers are advised to check with their respective airlines for updates on flight timings and schedules.
