Landing system at Calcutta awaits upgrade

The Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS), installed at Calcutta airport in December last year to ensure smooth operation of flights in low visibility, will take a few more months to become operational.
S.P.S. Bakshi, regional executive director, national airport division, hopes it could be activated before monsoon.
A recent survey by the Airports Authority of India has suggested a few technical improvements in the system, which will enable flights to land or take off even when visibility is as low as 350 metre.
The Category I system, now operational on the primary runway of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, fails when the visibility drops below 550 metre.
For proper functioning of the system, the glide path angle needs to be changed so that more accurate data could be provided to the pilot during landing.
The decision height, from where the pilot makes the decision to land, will also be lowered from 60 to 30 metres.
01/03/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Mar 2007, Safety Mar 2007