Lucknow, Jan. 3 -- An Air India Express aircraft attempted to land at the Lucknow airport 17 times before it was diverted back to Delhi on Friday, officials said.

According to airport officials, Air India Express flight IX-2171, which arrives from Delhi around 6.30 am, was unable to land due to extremely poor visibility. Air Traffic Control denied landing clearance as visibility levels fell below operational limits.

Due to the delay and diversion, Air India Express was forced to cancel its Lucknow-Riyadh flight (IX-189), too.

Flight services of other operators were also hit due to fog. An IndiGo flight from Mumbai (6E-5264), scheduled to arrive here at 12.35 am, landed about 45 minutes late. Flynas XY-333 from Riyadh, due at 9 am, was ...