After weeks of disruption caused by winter fog, passengers are likely to encounter further travel difficulties from January 21, as airspace over Delhi will be closed in line with Republic Day security protocols.
On Tuesday, the government issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) announcing airspace restrictions from 10:20 am to 12:45 pm for six days starting January 21.
The two-hour and 25-minute closure is expected to affect thousands of flights, disrupting connections and resulting in delays, cancellations, and the challenge of handling misconnected passengers for airlines.
The restrictions are being imposed for practice sessions, dress rehearsals, and the Republic Day parade itself, an annual event featuring a parade, flypast, and displays of India’s cultural heritage and military hardware along Kartavya Path.
The NOTAM leaves airlines with just eight days to prepare for the closure, triggering a scramble to adjust schedules, manage misconnecting passengers, and arrange rerouting, refunds, or flight changes—an expensive undertaking for carriers.
Data shared exclusively with this publication by aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that just over 600 flights will be affected during this period.
This period is among the busiest at Delhi airport, with passengers arriving from across the country to connect with the afternoon bank of flights to Europe as well as other domestic destinations.
The impact will be felt daily by thousands of passengers through cancellations, rescheduling, and travel disruptions.
Such complete closures are required for security reasons to ensure the safety of aircraft participating in the flypast, as well as the security of dignitaries during the Republic Day celebrations. Flights affected by the restrictions may not necessarily be cancelled.
However, these flights will almost certainly see a change in timing, with passengers alternatively being accommodated on different flights at other times.
Since this period also overlaps with Delhi’s fog season, a day with particularly low visibility could create significant challenges, with many flights and passengers needing to be managed within an even shorter operational window.
