In the first days of February, at airports in the Northern, there was fog, low clouds, and reduced visibility below flight operation standards which negatively affected flight operations. Especially in Noi Bai Airport, horizontal visibility has reduced to less than 300m at some time.
- During the two days of 2nd – 3rd February 2024, at northern airports, there was a phenomenon of dense fog, low cloud, and limited visibility which is directly affecting flight operations. Flights must be taken off at alternate airports or canceled, delayed.
- From 2 a.m on 2nd February, flights were unable to take off and land at Noi Bai Airport. Specifically, there were 9 flights that had to be redirected to land at alternate airports; 37 flights to Noi Bai Airport could not land; 54 other flights were also unable to take off from this airport because of bad weather.
- At Noi Bai Airport, many domestic and international flights landing here have to wait in the sky or land at alternate airports in Hai Phong or Da Nang, waiting for better weather to operate. Flights taking off from Noi Bai must also delay their operating time to ensure safety.
The phenomenon of dense fog often appears in Hanoi and the Northern provinces around February and March. Bad weather and dense fog in the Northern provinces right during the Tet holiday peak have greatly affected the operation of flights, causing delays, cancellations, and congestion at the airport frequently. According to information from the meteorological forecasting agency, foggy weather may continue until 8th February (the 29th day of the Lunar New Year) from night to early morning.
To deal with prolonged fog, the Vietnam Aviation Administration has applied procedures for operating in limited visibility conditions which is Low Visibility Procedures (LVP). At the same time, airports affected by the weather are required to increase the arrangement of service and operating forces at the ports, promptly release aircraft, and coordinate with airlines to implement handling plans in case that activities are affected by weather impacts. However, apart from the airport's measures, we recommend establishing a flexible flight schedule taking into account the possibility of delays and cancellations due to bad weather around Tet holiday.