Foggy days ahead for Delhi airport

Delhi airport in the winter is a foggy mess, flights are delayed, passengers are stranded but one wonders what it is like for the pilot when visibility is nearly zero.
A cockpit view of landing at Delhi airport during the winter fog is revelationary to say the least.
What the pilot can see when visibility is 1000 metres or more is known as a CAT 1 condition. An aircraft landing when the fog is more dense, means a visibility limit of 350 metres or a CAT 2 condition.
Visibility level of 200 metresis known as a CAT 3 A situation.
And when visibility is about 100 metres, nothing can be seen almost till touch down. The Delhi airport has the technology to make planes land in this visibility, a CAT 3 B condition.
But there's a catch, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA says most airlines have not bothered to install the same technology on their aircraft or train their pilots.
In the past, the government has threatened to cancel the winter morning slots of those airlines whose aircraft are not equipped to land in extremely low visibility conditions but that threat has never materialized.
20/12/07 Alok Pandey/NDTV.com

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Categories: Airports Dec 2007