Fogged out as device gathers dust

Calcutta: A piece of equipment that guides flights safely through low-visibility ground conditions was lying in cold storage when the season’s first fog attack crippled Calcutta airport last weekend, leaving fliers stranded for four hours on an average.As many as 25 flights were delayed, three had to be cancelled and two were diverted on foggy Saturday, thanks to the authorities’ failure to install an Airport Surface Movement Guidance and Control System that was delivered to them with seven months to go for winter.“The ground-control equipment arrived mid-year and was to be installed before winter. But we missed the deadline because of various reasons, and it appears unlikely that the system will be in place until at least next winter,” said a senior airport official.Luckily for those booked on flights over the week, a cyclonic storm brewing off the Tamil Nadu coast played the unlikely saviour by pumping hot air into south Bengal, chasing away the fog in a day.So can the city airport do without the equipment it has but hasn’t installed for the rest of the winter?According to officials, the foggiest days of the season lie ahead with the prospect of fliers losing more precious hours waiting for flights to take off.And who is to blame for the go-slow? P.K. Singhal, the regional executive director (east) of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), blamed the company that provided the equipment for the delay but declined to elaborate.
“The installation process will start soon. The optical fibres are being laid and the sites where monitors and towers will be installed have been identified,” said Singhal.
16/12/09 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Dec 2009