Bengaluru Airport: Expect Fog-Related Flight Delays for Early Morning Departures This Weekend

Passengers booked on early-morning flights from Bengaluru this weekend should be prepared for possible pre-9am delays, as clearer, colder nights are creating ideal conditions for radiation fog around Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Aviation and weather experts say the combination of dropping minimum temperatures, dry air and calm winds can sharply reduce visibility near dawn.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects below-normal night temperatures in the city over the next few days, with lows likely dipping towards 12–14°C and “misty, fog-laden mornings” followed by sunny afternoons. Such conditions often trigger ground fog around open areas like runways, especially between 3am and 7am, just when the first departure banks begin.

Fog risk rising at Bengaluru airport before 9am

IMD’s city forecast points to mainly clear skies with fog or mist “very likely during the early morning hours in some areas,” signalling a classic radiation fog setup for Bengaluru’s plateau. When skies stay clear overnight, heat escapes quickly, the surface cools, and moisture near the ground condenses into a shallow fog layer by dawn.

This pattern has already affected KIA several times in recent weeks. On one recent morning, dense fog and low-lying clouds forced the airport to activate its Low Visibility Procedure (LVP) around 4.45am, causing delays to dozens of flights and a few diversions until visibility improved towards mid-morning.

What Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) mean for flyers

Low Visibility Procedures are a formal set of rules used by airports and air traffic control to keep operations safe when visibility or cloud base drops below normal thresholds. India’s aerodrome manuals define LVP as “specific procedures applied at an aerodrome for the purpose of ensuring safe operations during Categories II and III approaches and/or low visibility take-offs.”

Once LVP is declared, aircraft movements slow down: spacing between landings increases, taxi speeds reduce, and ground vehicles face tighter restrictions near the runway. This keeps safety margins high but reduces hourly capacity, so even one foggy hour can cause a backlog that stretches closer to 9am, especially on busy winter mornings.

Recent delays show how quickly fog can disrupt schedules

In late November, visibility at KIA reportedly dropped to around 1,500 metres soon after 5.30am, leading to delays for over 40 flights during the morning peak. On earlier winter mornings, similar events have forced temporary suspensions of arrivals and departures until runway conditions met instrument-landing limits again.

Airport officials have repeatedly stressed that safety comes first when fog forms near the runway. During a previous fog episode, they noted, “With the winter setting in, environmental impediments such as fog and consequent visibility issues have an impact on aircraft movement. This often leads to flight delays and diversions. Operations stabilised just before 9 am.”

Typical impact window and how passengers should plan

Based on past winter disruptions at Bengaluru and current forecasts of misty mornings with clear, cool nights, travellers on flights scheduled between 3am and 9am over the next two to three days face the highest fog-related risk. Later-morning and afternoon services usually operate normally once the sun burns off surface moisture.

Passengers flying on IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, Akasa Air or other carriers are advised to use airline apps or websites for live flight status before leaving home, and again on reaching the terminal. Searching phrases such as “IndiGo flight status Bengaluru” or “Air India flight status BLR” in a browser usually surfaces the relevant tracking pages quickly.

For now, IMD has not issued a dedicated dense-fog warning for Bengaluru, but its guidance on colder nights, clear skies and misty mornings suggests a continued risk of radiation fog episodes near dawn. Flyers booked on pre-9am departures this weekend would be wise to keep phones charged, enable airline alerts, and budget extra time both for the airport drive and for possible hold-ups at the gate.