Guwahati: Dusty Conditions Prevent Several Flights From Landing
Several flights have been denied landing at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati’s Borjhar on Wednesday amid poor visibility conditions.
As per reports, the situation arised after Guwahati witnessed an unprecedented dusty day with skies turning brown amid rising air pollution levels. This in turn affected visibility in and around the airport.
As many as four flight from different sources including Delhi and Kolkata were not able to land due to the existing conditions, initial reports claimed.
Meanwhile, an Indigo flight numbered 6E 6011 coming in from Chennai to Guwahati, was able to land safely after repeated attempts.
The severe dusty conditions around the airport have made it difficult for radar signals to reach the aircrafts, making it a dangerous proposition for flights attempting to land in Guwahati. It has also come to the fore that four flights were turned around and had to be diverted to Kolkata as they were unable to land here.
They aircrafts that were diverted to Kolkata are reportedly scheduled to make another attempt to land in Guwahati once the conditions become clearer.
On the other hand, the dusty conditions have not dampened the moods of those looking to fly out of Guwahati, according to reports, as flights departing Guwahati have not faced any problems in that regard.
It may be noted that amid several simultaneous construction projects underway across the city, Guwahati witnessed a dusty evening today with air pollution reaching alarmingly high levels.
Guwahati recorded an AQI (air quality index) rating in the range of 232-265, across four separate stations, as per data from the National Air Quality Index. According to the data, Panbazar in Guwahati recorded an air quality of 232, Railway Colony in Guwahati recorded an air quality of 249, IIT Guwahati recorded an air quality of 242, and LGBI Airport recorded an air quality of 265 at 4 pm this afternoon. All the above ratings fall under the ‘Orange’ code or poor category which is bound to cause “breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure.”