Runways to be maintained round-the-clock

New Delhi: With as many as nine diversions during the first fog of the season on Friday morning, due to a hitch with the taxiway lights of the main runway, a faulty localiser and a non-CAT-III compliant new runway, the civil aviation ministry took up the issue with all stakeholders on Monday.
The meeting, headed by secretary M Madhavan Nambiar instructed Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) and the Airports Authority of India to ensure that runways were maintained round the clock and the work on third runway to make it CAT-III compliant gets complete before December 10.
Soon after Times City reported that both runways were not available for CAT-III landing during the season's first fog on Friday, the secretary asked the airport management that in case of failure of any equipment or non-availability of runway, the senior officials of both DIAL and air traffic control (ATC) were required to be informed. This will help in chalking out alternatives that will not require such large scale diversions or delays.
"In Friday's case, there wasn't any need to not allow CAT-III landing on the main runway after some of the taxiway lights stopped working. The diversions could have been avoided. ATC and DIAL need to work out on options together instead of taking action alone,'' said a senior ministry official.
The ministry also asked AAI to ensure that the surface movement radar, essential for CAT-III movement, should be commissioned before December 10, the date by which the Met department is expecting fog season to begin officially.
25/11/08 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Nov 2008