Is Delhi Airport Affected by Fog Delays?
Quick answer: Outside the winter fog season (roughly 10 December to 1 February), this isn't a live concern. During that window, Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) has seen repeated severe disruption — 66 cancellations and 170+ delays in one early-January 2026 event alone, with visibility dropping as low as 100 metres in early February.
This is a recurring seasonal pattern, not a one-off — this page is built to be checked again each winter.
Winter 2026 disruption timeline
- 4 January 2026 — dense fog forced ground holds, diversions, 66 cancellations; 170+ delayed movements by mid-morning.
- 19 January 2026 — fog combined with a "severe" AQI of 418, pushing visibility below 350 metres and triggering low-visibility procedures.
- 3 February 2026 — visibility as low as 100 metres; 120+ domestic and 34 international flights delayed by 9am.
Why Delhi specifically
Dense winter fog combined with poor air quality is a recurring North Indian winter phenomenon — the combination reduces visibility below the thresholds needed for standard landing procedures, triggering airport-wide low-visibility procedures that slow every airline's operations simultaneously, not just a subset of flights.
Planning around it
If your travel dates fall within the roughly 10 December to 1 February window, build schedule flexibility into your plans and check your specific flight status close to departure — airlines typically issue real-time advisories once fog conditions develop, and low-visibility procedures can change flight status within hours.
This page tracks the general seasonal pattern and is reviewed each winter. Always check your specific airline and flight for real-time status.
Frequently asked questions
Outside the winter fog season (roughly 10 December to 1 February), fog-driven disruption is not a live concern. During that window, Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) has seen repeated major disruptions in recent years — check this page's status badge and the current date against the season.
Significant. In one early-January 2026 event, dense fog forced ground holds, diversions and 66 outright flight cancellations, with over 170 delayed movements by mid-morning. A mid-January event combined fog with a 'severe' air quality index of 418, pushing visibility below 350 metres. An early-February event saw visibility as low as 100 metres, with 120+ domestic and 34 international flights running late by 9am.
Dense winter fog combined with poor air quality (smog) is a recurring North Indian winter phenomenon, reducing visibility well below the minimums needed for standard landing procedures, triggering airport-wide low-visibility procedures that slow arrivals and departures across all airlines simultaneously.
The aviation fog season typically runs from around 10 December to 1 February, though disruptions have continued into early February in recent years. If your travel dates fall in this window, build in flexibility and check your specific flight status close to departure.
See the full list of active travel warnings.