Why IGI airport is blinded by the fog

New Delhi: Like every other winter this year too passengers are complaining about flight delays in the Capital. Since December nearly 75 flights have been cancelled, almost 100 diverted and over 250 delayed.
But why is it that in India's most technically advanced airport the situation is not improving.
Indira Gandhi International airport is the only airport in India which is equipped with the CAT III B instrument landing system or the Instrument Landing System.
The ILS only helps the plane land, a different set of systems are needed to help the plane taxi. In case of dense fog, the time taken to travel this distance increases.
Out of the 4000 commercial pilots in India, 2100 are CAT III be trained.
But most of these trained pilots are rostered for international flights and only a few are available for domestic travel.
The new Runway 29 at Indira Gandhi International airport was expected to reduce traffic congestion.
Flights landing on the new Runway 29 have to cross the main runway 28 if the passengers have to be dropped off at the older terminal. If flights are landing or taking off at Runway 28, the aircraft will have to wait for its turn.
11/01/11 Priyanka Dube/CNN-IBN

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Categories: Airports Jan 2011