'Cat-scanned' pilots to combat fog

Delhi: Every year on most winter mornings the Delhi airport turns into a No Fly Zone. A civil aviation ministry official expressed hopes on Tuesday that things would be decidedly better in the near future. That's because airlines will have the services of as many as 500 more trained CAT II/III B compliant pilots this year.
Last year the number of trained pilots with the airlines was 1500. In January 2010, which was unusually foggy even by north Indian standards, more than 1,000 flights had to be cancelled and more than 200 were diverted.
Delhi airport is the one of the worst fog-affected airports in the country and in the world. "This year the number of trained CAT II/III B pilots is 2048. The flight schedules of aircraft which are not Low Visibility Procedure (LVP) compliant will be reviewed," said the official.
"AAI has been asked to prepare a comprehensive document on all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on fog management at IGI Airport. DIAL will also finalise the Low Visibility Procedure in coordination with AAI and publish it. There will be a detailed SOP for transfer of international passengers in coordination with stakeholders," the official said. Sources told MiD DAY that AAI will prepare priority setting procedure in departure sequence during and immediately after LVP. AAI shall also keep diversionary airports ready for accepting the diverted aircraft from IGI Airport.
23/12/10 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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Categories: Airports Dec 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2010