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 delayed by over five hours and was expected to arrive only by 2.25 pm. Star Air's flight from Jharsuguda (S-5228), scheduled for a 10.15 am arrival, touched down at 12.50 pm. Departures were equally affected, with Flynas' Lucknow-Dammam flight (XY-897) pushed from 6.15 am to 3 pm. Other delayed departures included IndiGo's Lucknow-Guwahati flight (6E-146), Oman Air's Muscat-bound service (WY-266), Flynas' Riyadh flight (XY-334), Star Air's Kishangarh service, Air India Express' Bengaluru flight, and multiple IndiGo and Star Air sectors to Delhi and Jharsuguda (Odisha)....