Delhi: Over 450 flights get delayed due to dust storm

Hundreds of passengers waited for long hours at the Delhi airport on Saturday as more than 450 flights were delayed and many flights were cancelled due to congestion, with the situation starting to ease from afternoon onwards. Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the airport with many passengers standing at some places inside the airport and waiting for updates on Friday evening and Saturday morning as the impact of flight disruptions due to inclement weather conditions persisted.
Many people took to social media to complain about the chaos and flight delays, and also shared pictures and videos of some places inside the airport being crowded.
Sources at the airport confirmed that there was a sudden spike in crowding at boarding gates late Friday night and early Saturday due to diverted and delayed flights landing at the same time.
Frustrated passengers took to social media, with many sharing visuals of overcrowded boarding gates and alleging mistreatment by airline staff.
Air India replied: “Dear Mr. Lal, we hear you. However, kindly know that the flights are affected due to adverse effect of bad weather. Please be assured that our staff is trying to the best of their abilities to assist all passengers.”
Another frustrated flyer shared a video captioned: “Passengers treated worse than cattles.”
Senior officials from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and airport authorities were deployed to monitor the situation and address passenger grievances, officials said.
However, several passengers claimed the response was insufficient and uncoordinated.
“After the dust storm, many flights were diverted and cancelled, and this caused inconvenience to passengers waiting for their flights at Delhi airport. The diverted flight took time to reach Delhi, and this led to rush at the airport,” said a senior official.
Delhi-NCR witnessed a strong dust storm on Friday, which led to widespread disruptions. Several trees were uprooted across the region, causing traffic jams and power outages. An electric pole collapsed at ITO, and thunderstorms caused power outages in multiple parts of the capital, primarily due to trees and branches falling on overhead power lines.
Authorities were flooded with distress calls about fallen trees. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) received eight complaints from areas including Connaught Place, Jor Bagh, Patel Marg, and Sardar Patel Marg.