Fog exposes airlines' CAT readiness

New Delhi: Trouble began just before 6 am when fog made a comeback with a vengeance — after staying away for a long time. A tame January seemed to have lulled the airlines into complacency.
There was utter chaos till 11 am. Besides thousands of harried passengers, fretting and fuming, the five hours caused 150 delays, 28 cancellations and 18 diversions.
Passengers waited for up to six hours inside aircraft before it could take off.
While CAT III B conditions lasted from 7.30 am to 9.30 am, only four domestic flights could take off — though almost all Indian carriers, except SpiceJet and JetLite, on paper claim to have pilots trained to operate in such conditions.
Of the four movements, three were by Indian (now Air India). Similarly, among Indian carriers, only one flight each of IA and AI could land using this system. About 35 flights operated when visibility improved slightly.
Each year before winter the aviation ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) 'warn' airlines that unless they have adequate number of CAT III B-trained pilots, they would lose peak morning and evening slots.
This has never been done, and recently DGCA repeated the threat saying next winter airlines would be punished.
07/02/08 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Categories: airports Feb 2008