Snapped cable adds to Mumbai airport woes

Mumbai: Amid dipping visibility and a persistent downpour on Saturday, a snapped cable proved to be the bane of air traffic controllers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the country’s busiest, as ATC officials safely navigated flights landing and taking off.
A cable connecting the skopograph—used exclusively for determining runway visibility—to the ATC tower was severed on June 25. When connected, the skopograph gives digital printouts of real time weather conditions along with time trend analysis to provide for short-term prediction of visibility.
D K Bhagat, Director (Aviation Meteorological Services), India Meteorological Department said that “arrangements have been made” to tackle the situation, “particularly at the (runway) 27 end” near Kurla.
What this means is that the Met department has had to deploy an official next to the skopograph located near the runway. “The official is manually taking readings and transmitting them to the service room and thereon to the control tower,” Bhagat added.
30/06/07 Lekha Agarwal/Expressindia.com

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007