Ahmedabad airport 'blind' for 6 hours

Ahmedabad: In a systems failure that could have led to a major tragedy, the air traffic control radar which controls the movements of more than 500 flights a day from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, went on the blink for nearly six hours on Friday.
At least five flights were delayed and, owing to the bad weather conditions in Delhi and north India, five more were diverted to Ahmedabad airport late on Friday night.
The failure of the air traffic control radar left the ATC staff at the city airport into a tizzy. According to sources, the radar stopped working at 12 pm and despite many attempts to repair it, officials could not start the system before 6 pm.
However, PK Srivastva, communication in-charge of the equipment, denied the occurrence and said that it was a routine and planned procedure for maintaining the radar.
09/01/10 Satish Jha/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010, Safety Jan 2010