Alliance Air flight from Delhi forced to return; resumed service hit by bad weather on day one
Shimla Airport witnessed disruption on the very first day of the resumption of Delhi-Shimla flight operations, as an Alliance Air aircraft was unable to land due to poor visibility and had to return to Delhi on Sunday morning.
According to officials, the flight departed from Delhi at 7:20 am and reached the vicinity of Shimla around 8:35 am. However, adverse weather conditions and low visibility at Jubbarhatti airport prevented the pilot from carrying out a safe landing, forcing the aircraft to head back to the national capital.
A total of six passengers were onboard the flight. Meanwhile, four passengers had booked tickets for the scheduled 11:30 am Shimla-to-Delhi flight, which was also affected due to the prevailing weather conditions.
Airport authorities said a minimum visibility of 5,000 metres is required for safe landing operations at Shimla airport. On Sunday morning, visibility was recorded at nearly 4,000 metres, making landing unsafe.
Officials explained that flight operations at Shimla airport are conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), meaning aircraft movement depends entirely on weather conditions and runway visibility. If the runway is not clearly visible, landing operations cannot be carried out.
Notably, regular flight services between Delhi and Shimla had resumed on Sunday after a gap of nearly seven months. Alliance Air is scheduled to operate flights on all days except Tuesday.
Despite a sharp increase in airfare — reportedly between 65 and 96 per cent on the Delhi-Shimla route — there had been considerable enthusiasm among travellers regarding the resumption of air connectivity. However, the poor weather dampened expectations on the very first day.
Airport Authority of India’s Shimla Airport Director, Satish Kumar, confirmed that the aircraft could not land due to low visibility and said flight operations at the airport are governed by VFR norms. He expressed hope that services would return to normal if weather conditions improve on Monday.
