Buddha disrupts flight path at Delhi airport

Delhi: Airline pilots trying to land on a controversial new runway at Delhi's international airport face an unusual hazard in the form of a giant statue of Buddha.
Work has already started on the 16-metre-high (54ft) copper statue on a religious site which lies in the landing funnel area of the flight path about 1km from the end of the runway.
Yesterday craftsmen working on the statue insisted the fault lay with the airport for failing to take the presence of the religious site into consideration when deciding where to build the runway. The man in charge of the site, who declined to give his name, said the statues were important religious symbols.
The 1,000 crore rupee (£133m) runway at Indira Gandhi International airport has been beset by problems since it opened in August last year.
Pilots already have to cope with a 24-metre-high statue of Lord Shiva, one of the most important Hindu gods, which stands, clutching a trident, close to the Buddha site.
Its presence means that only 2.4km of the runway's 4.4km length is available to pilots landing from the east.
Reports in India suggest some pilots are already reluctant to use the runway, with particular concerns raised about flying in the dense fog which frequently descends during the Delhi winter. The fog is said to be more dense around the new runway than around the old main runway, although more pilots are being trained to carry out instrument landings.
Air traffic controllers have complained that it is too far from the tower, and there have been glitches with the ground radar system which enables them to identify what is on the runway.
23/12/09 Gethin Chamberlain/The Guardian.co.uk, UK

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Dec 2009, Safety Dec 2009