Radars failure delays flights

Chennai: Blips vanished from the air traffic control screens after radars failed at the airport at 5.15 pm. Several flights were delayed as air traffic controllers struggled to handle aircraft movement using manual control procedures.
The approach radar that handles landing and take-off, and the area control radar used to control aircraft movement over 200 nautical miles around the airport remained out of order till the time of filing this report late night. Officials said that attempts to restore the radars were on.
Several flights suffered delays ranging from 10 minutes to nearly an hour. The airport handles the most number of aircraft between 6 pm and midnight.
As the airport does not have back up radars, air traffic controllers had to call up pilots for their location and altitude, and use chart papers to guide flights.
The aging radars have failed several times in the past. Though the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has sanctioned replacements, the new radars are yet to be installed.
12/05/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports May 2009