Thick fog diverts, delays flights to Noi Bai Airport

A representative of the airport said the fog had obstructed pilots’ vision from 5 a.m.-8 a.m., making 11 flights unable to land in Noi Bai and had to land in other airports.

At least three flights by national carrier Vietnam Airlines, and two flights by Vietjet Air were diverted to the Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong. Certain other flights by international carriers had to land in Da Nang and Hong Kong.

Several flights taking off from Noi Bai also had to be delayed until after 8 a.m., when the fog dissipated.

Fog appears most frequently in March in previous years, so the fact that it appeared in winter this year was “fairly unusual,” the airport representative said.

Airports nowadays are equipped with modern equipment, as well as improved flight operations, so the chances of flights being impacted by unfavorable weather conditions have reduced compared to previous years.

A mass of cold air has been impacting most of northern Vietnam regions and certain parts of central Vietnam since Thursday, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. In Hanoi, there would be fog in early mornings, while the highest daytime temperatures would be at around 26 degrees Celsius, and the lowest at 16 degrees.