28 circles, no landing: Lucknow-bound Air India Express flight circles for 171 minutes amid zero visibility, returns to Delhi

Dense winter fog over Lucknow turned the early morning skies into a holding zone for aircraft, forcing an Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 to circle endlessly before abandoning its landing attempt, twice in two days.

On January 2 and again on January 4, the Delhi–Lucknow Air India Express flight was unable to land due to extremely poor visibility, spending a combined 171 minutes in the air and looping over the city 28 times before returning to Delhi.

Fog leaves pilots with no option but to turn back

On January 4, flight IX217 reached Lucknow at 6.42 am, but dense fog had reduced the runway visual range (RVR) to just 125 metres, well below the 150-metre minimum mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for a safe landing.


With hopes that conditions would improve, the pilots placed the aircraft in a holding pattern. For nearly 78 minutes, until 8.01 am, the jet circled Lucknow 11 times, hovering above the fog-covered city. When visibility showed no signs of clearing, the crew made the call to return. The aircraft eventually landed back in Delhi at 8.55 am.

Déjà vu from two days earlier

A similar scenario unfolded on January 2, when flight IX2171 encountered almost identical weather conditions. The aircraft arrived over Lucknow at 6.18 am and remained airborne for 93 minutes, circling the city 17 times in anticipation of better visibility. With the fog refusing to lift, the flight was once again forced to head back to Delhi.

Other flights also disrupted

The dense fog didn’t just affect Air India Express. Several other flights experienced delays at Lucknow airport due to low visibility.

SalamAir flight OV705 from Muscat landed over 90 minutes late, touching down at 5.16 am. Meanwhile, two Air India Express services, IX2048 from Bengaluru and IX1026 from Mumbai, arrived between one and three hours behind schedule.

Winter fog continues to disrupt air travel

North India’s winter fog has been a recurring challenge for aviation, particularly during early morning hours. While pilots rely on advanced navigation systems, strict safety regulations mean landings are not permitted when visibility falls below prescribed limits.

For passengers, the repeated diversions highlight how unpredictable winter weather continues to disrupt flight operations, despite meticulous planning and modern aircraft technology.

Inputs from TOI