India, Dec. 16 -- As a dense layer of smoke and fog retained its grip over the Capital, a sharp and sudden drop in visibility late Sunday night plunged Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport into near-total disorder, with 228 flights cancelled and more than 800 delayed, triggering scenes of confusion, anger and exhaustion among thousands of stranded passengers through Monday.

What began as weather-related disruption quickly snowballed into a full-blown operational crisis.

Airport officials said low visibility conditions crippled departures through the early morning, leading to cascading delays that forced airlines to cancel flights throughout the day. By Monday evening, terminals were packed with travellers waiting in long qu...