HANOI – All flights to and from the international airport in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi have been delayed or diverted to other cities on Feb 2 due to heavy fog and worsening air pollution, an airport official said.

Air Visual, an independent online air quality index monitor, said Hanoi’s levels of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 in the air were at an extreme high of 257 microgrammes per cubic metre early on Feb 2.

“All incoming flights are being diverted to other cities, including Haiphong or Danang. No one can take off at the moment,” an official at Noi Bai International Airport said, declining to be named.

Nearly 100 flights to and from the airport have been affected, state media reported, citing the airport authorities.

Vietnam’s budget airline VietJet on Feb 2 said several of its flights scheduled to land in Hanoi had been diverted to land in Haiphong city.

Air pollution in Hanoi has constantly been ranked among the world’s highest, with the health authorities in January 2024 advising people to wear masks and limit outdoor activities. REUTERS