The absence of a state-of-the-art Instrument Landing System (ILS) at Kempegowda International Airport led to more than 100 flights being delayed when a blanket of fog enveloped the airport early on Saturday morning, according to experts.
As visibility dropped to less than 100 metres on the runway, the ability of pilots to take off and land, which is dependent on the ILS, was nullified leading to the delay. The KIA is equipped with a Category (CAT) I ILS system at a time when airports like the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi have installed CAT III-C ILS to deal with fog.
CAT I ILS requires a runway visual range (RVR) of 550 meters while CAT III-C systems can help a plane operate in RVR of 50 metres and above.
“Bengaluru airport is not fully equipped with the latest technology and this hampers operations,” said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director of Air Pegasus, which is based at KIA.
The lack of a CAT III-C system makes it impossible for a plane, which has just taken off in foggy conditions to land in case of an emergency. For an airport like KIA, which has a majority of flights taking off in the early morning, the lack of proper ILS facilities has the potential to severely handicap operations on days when fog descends.
“Given the fact that there is a significant amount of traffic early in the morning, it is time for the airport to consider upgrading to CAT-III ILS,” opined Devesh Agarwal, a blogger with Bangalore Aviation, which follows the aviation sector.
29/11/15 Avinash Bhat/The Hindu
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As visibility dropped to less than 100 metres on the runway, the ability of pilots to take off and land, which is dependent on the ILS, was nullified leading to the delay. The KIA is equipped with a Category (CAT) I ILS system at a time when airports like the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi have installed CAT III-C ILS to deal with fog.
CAT I ILS requires a runway visual range (RVR) of 550 meters while CAT III-C systems can help a plane operate in RVR of 50 metres and above.
“Bengaluru airport is not fully equipped with the latest technology and this hampers operations,” said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director of Air Pegasus, which is based at KIA.
The lack of a CAT III-C system makes it impossible for a plane, which has just taken off in foggy conditions to land in case of an emergency. For an airport like KIA, which has a majority of flights taking off in the early morning, the lack of proper ILS facilities has the potential to severely handicap operations on days when fog descends.
“Given the fact that there is a significant amount of traffic early in the morning, it is time for the airport to consider upgrading to CAT-III ILS,” opined Devesh Agarwal, a blogger with Bangalore Aviation, which follows the aviation sector.
29/11/15 Avinash Bhat/The Hindu
