Flight operations disrupted at Leh airport due to inclement weather, 16 cancellations in four days

Jul 30, 2024

New Delhi [India], July 30 : For the fourth consecutive day, flight operations at Leh airport, India's highest commercial airport, remained affected due to bad weather conditions, with four flights cancelled on Tuesday.
A senior official of the Airport Authority of India at Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh confirmed that on Tuesday, four flights--three Indigo and one SpiceJet--were cancelled due to ongoing weather conditions.
"The weather is unfavourable for flight operations. Several flights have been cancelled in last two days. And if weather remained the same, then there might be few more cancellation," the AAI official said.
On inconvenience caused to flyers, the official said that they have not received a single complaint from passengers. It is the responsibility of the airlines to assist passengers in cases of cancellation or delays.
The airlines operating from Leh Airport said that passengers have been notified of the changes in advance and the airline is working to mitigate the challenges posed by weather conditions.
According to the officials at Leh airport, total 16 flights have been cancelled since July 27. On a normal day, Leh airport experiences around 15 arrival and departures of aircrafts every day.
A senior official explained that the flight operations are disrupted because aircraft are incapable of operating due to a reduction in air density in the region.
The official said that it has happened due to high temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius in the region, which makes the high-altitude air too thin for safe aircraft operations.