Bad weather at Hisar delays flight from Delhi

The flight schedule at the newly operational Maharaja Agrasen Airport in Hisar, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, ran into rough weather literally on Friday as the Delhi-Hisar-Ayodhya service got delayed by over two hours, causing inconvenience to passengers.

Sources said that the Delhi-Hisar flight, originally scheduled to arrive at 10:15 am, landed at 12:50 pm—a delay of 2 hours and 35 minutes—due to bad weather and low visibility.

The same aircraft, a 72-seater, was set to depart for Ayodhya at 10:30 am but left only around 1:20 pm with 61 passengers on board. The Delhi-Hisar leg saw just 16 passengers, many of whom seemed exasperated over the prolonged delay.

The passengers, who arrived at the Hisar airport, said that they were told about the delay due to weather conditions at Hisar when they were at the Delhi airport. Manish from Fatehabad, travelling with his grandmother, scrapped his Ayodhya flight fearing he would miss a connecting Bengaluru flight from Delhi and instead booked a cab to Delhi.

Krishan Kumar, who arrived from Hyderabad via Delhi, was among those who faced the delay, said the prolonged wait defeated the purpose of flying. “I could have reached faster by road," he maintained.

The ground-level infrastructure at Hisar airport came under sharp criticism from passengers. With no waiting hall, visitors and accompanying family members were forced to stand outside in the heat with some taking shelter near the gate or in the parking area. Elderly passengers had to walk long distances on the runway under the blazing sun, and there were no taxis or public transport options available inside the airport.

Despite the chaos, some passengers maintained a positive outlook. Rajender Sapra, who boarded the Hisar-Ayodhya flight, said the delay hadn’t dampen his spirit. “The journey was pleasant once it began,” he said as many on board chanted “Jai Shri Ram” in excitement.

Alliance Air, which operates the flights, is also expected to begin flights from Hisar to Jaipur and Chandigarh later this week. These will operate thrice a week and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is likely to flag off the inaugural flights. The schedule has been submitted to Air Traffic Control and final confirmation is awaited.

The Airport Authority of India has taken full operational control of Hisar airport. Future plans include direct flights to Jammu and Ahmedabad, which are expected to commence by May.

Haryana Tribune