Archive · 15 Jan 2026
Bhogi Festival Smoke and Fog Disrupt Chennai Flights
The Bhogi festival in Tamil Nadu involves burning old items, which creates a lot of smoke.
This smoke, along with morning fog, made it hard for planes to take off and land at Chennai Airport.
Because of this, eight flights were cancelled, and ten flights were delayed.
The airport told passengers about these problems in advance to help them plan.
This happens every year during Bhogi, but this time it wasn't as bad as in previous years.
In 2018, 118 flights were affected, and in 2024, 54 flights were affected.
The airport is taking steps to prepare for similar issues next year.
The situation became most severe between 7:00 am and 8:00 am, when visibility plunged to just 300 metres, with Runway Visual Range at 400 metres.
Despite these challenging conditions, airport authorities stated that flight operations continued under Low Visibility Procedures and were reported as being under control.
Eight flights were cancelled and ten flights were delayed at Chennai Airport due to smoke from Bhogi festival celebrations and morning fog.
The smoke is caused by burning discarded materials as part of Bhogi festivities in areas near the airport.
Affected flights include routes to and from Pune, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Delhi, Vijayawada, and Thoothukudi.
Passengers were informed about the disruptions via text messages to avoid inconvenience.
This is a recurring issue during Bhogi, but the impact was less severe compared to previous years.
- Who
- Passengers at Chennai Airport
- What
- Flight cancellations and delays due to Bhogi festival smoke and fog
- When
- Wednesday (Bhogi festival day)
- Where
- Chennai Airport, Tamil Nadu
- Why
- Burning of discarded materials during Bhogi festival celebrations and early-morning fog
- Festival
- Bhogi
- Location
- Chennai Airport, Tamil Nadu
- Date
- Wednesday
- Flights Cancelled
- 8
- Flights Delayed
- 10
- Affected Areas
- Pammal, Anakaputhur, Meenambakkam, Gowl Bazaar, Pozhichalur, Manapakkam, Thoraipakkam, Nandambakkam
- Previous Year Impact (2024)
- 54 flights affected
- Previous Year Impact (2018)
- 118 flights affected
- Visibility at 7:00 am
- 300 metres
- Runway Visual Range at 7:00 am
- 400 metres
Sources
Chennai: Flight operations hit due to Bhogi festival smoke, fog; 8 cancelled, 10 delayed
TN celebrates ”Bhogi” with bonfires leading to mild smog early Wednesday
Chennai Airport Cancels Flights Amid Heavy Fog; Low Visibility Procedures in Effect
Tamil Nadu Minister slams IndiGo for delay ‘ordeal’: ‘Low cost airline shouldn’t mean cheap passenger treatment’
TN celebrates ‘Bhogi’ with bonfires, leads to mild smog
Dense fog hits operations at Chandigarh airport, 12 arrival, 9 departure flights cancelled
