The four-day festival of Pongal may bring immense joy to people in Tamil Nadu, who celebrate this annual solar appreciation festival for four days. However, as with every year, this year too flight operations have been affected in airports across Tamil Nadu due to smoke from the fires of Bhogi — also known as Bogi — in the state.
What is Bhogi?
Bhogi, or Bogi, is observed on the first day of the four-day Pongal festival. People on this day throw out their old things and make a fire out of them in the early hours of the morning. Because what gets thrown out often includes wooden knick-knacks, including furniture, they regularly end up becoming fuel for this ceremonial fire.
Over time, people have taken to burning other things, like vehicle tyres that are made of rubber, as part of the Bhogi fire. The tyres are a major source of pollution, causing thick black smoke that leads to choking air quality and low visibility in areas surrounding wherever they are burnt in bulk.
How much does it affect flights?
A source at Chennai airport told International Business Times, India, that delay of flights due to low visibility — which is a result of all that particulate matter from the Bhogi fires — is a yearly phenomenon, and has happened this year as well. While a PTI report says 19 flights have been affected, the actual number is 59 departures and 87 arrivals between 6 am and 3 pm on Friday, according to the official website of the Chennai airport.
Among the other big airports in Tamil Nadu, seven flight departures and six arrivals had to be delayed at the Coimbatore airport due to low visibility caused by smog that resulted from particulate matter given out by Bhogi fires.
Airline advisories
Meanwhile, many airlines have issued advisory to fliers to check whether their flights have been delayed. Jet Airways wrote on Twitter: "TravelUpdate: Due to adverse weather at #Chennai in #fog, some of our flights are affected. Please check your #FlightStatus. [sic]"
SpiceJet wrote on its official Twitter handle: "#WeatherUpdate We are expecting bad weather(Poor visibility) at Tirupati, Chennai & Vishakhapatnam. (1/2) [sic]" It added: "All departures/arrivals & their consequential flights may get affected. Pls cross check your flight status before leaving for airport. (2/2) [sic]"
IndiGo also told its fliers via Twitter: "Due to sudden drop in visibility at VTZ [the international three-alphabet code of Visakhapatnam airport] and smog at MAA [aforementioned code for Chennai airport], our to and fro flights are affected. As a result consequential delays are expected."
