Shimla airport to have aviation observatory

Shimla: Shimla Airport at Jubarhatti would now get an aviation observatory that is expected to make the landing of in-bound flights easier during bad weather conditions. The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has already completed the initial formalities for the observatory and the equipment would soon be installed, confirmed Director General of IMD, Ajeet Tyagi.
At present, there is no apparatus at the airport that can automatically convey the sudden change in weather in Shimla due to which flights coming to Shimla from Delhi or Chandigarh could be informed in time. There have also been many instances where the flights took off from another station but could not get landing permission due to bad weather.
The Himachal Pradesh government has been insisting on expansion of Shimla and Kullu airports and has informed the Central government about the requirement. Installation of an aviation observatory is a prelude to the future expansion. A team of the Civil Aviation Ministry has already visited Shimla airport thrice to assess it for expansion. The only expansion in recent times has been that of introduction of an additional terminal at Bhuntar airport in Kullu.
Tyagi said that besides the aviation observatory which would establish a direct link with other airports, Himachal would get more advanced technology to predict disasters such as a cloud burst.
21/10/09 Hemlata Verma/Chandigarh Newsline

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008, New Oct 2008