Srinagar: Flight operations at Srinagar Airport remained affected for sixth straight day on Thursday due to low visibility even as rain and snow lashed the Valley.
Director Srinagar Airport Santosh Dhoke said that all the 26 flights were cancelled due to low visibility triggered by fog.
An Airport Authority of India official said that in the morning there was a slight possibility but it was not found suitable for flight operations.
“The visibility at the airport has been hovering around 100 to 500 metres. The required visibility is 1,000-1,200 metres. So, all flights for the day were cancelled,” he said.
More than 100 flights to and from Srinagar were grounded since the last six days as dense fog engulfed the Valley. It has left hundreds of travellers stranded both in Srinagar as well as outside Kashmir. This includes patients who had to go for medical checkups to outside states.
However, many people travelling outside the Valley preferred Srinagar-Jammu highway in the face of cancellation of flights. Only one-way traffic from Srinagar and Jammu is allowed to proceed on the 300 kilometre strategic highway.
However, it also was closed for traffic on Thursday evening after snowfall along the highway caused slippery conditions.
A traffic police official said that
The weather department has predicted snow and rains from tonight in the Valley including summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Director Meteorological department Sonam Lotus said that there is every possibility that Srinagar will receive snowfall on Thursday night.
He said upper reaches in the Valley received snow for second consecutive day.
Rains, he said, brought significant improvement in visibility in Kashmir and there will be more improvement from today.

Reader correspondent