Kashmir fogged out, air traffic crippled

WHAT THE FOG! Passengers at the Srinagar airport have been waiting for their flights to take off.

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Srinagar: It has been three days since the connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the world came to a grinding halt.

Intense fog and poor visibility has prevented flights from taking off or landing. Passengers at the Srinagar airport have been waiting for their flights to take off from the valley.

The worst affected are the Haj pilgrims as things don’t seem to be improving.

“I had to return as no flight could take off for the last three days. My mother has to go to United States but she has not been able to,’ says a passenger, Firdaus Khan.

More than 60 flights from and to Srinagar have been cancelled and the anguished passengers are being forced to use the road route through the Jammu Kashmir National Highway, which is itself prone to disruptions.

The demand for facilities for low visibility operations at the airport is mounting.

“It is a great loss. We should have facilities that make the planes land in foggy condition. People at the helm should think about it,” says a travel agent.

Fog, erratic power and water supply coupled with the cold wave are making things worse for the people. The mercury has dipped as low as between 4.8 degree Celsius in the past week and weather gods are not relenting.