Aircraft snag, poor visibility disrupt operations at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Flight operations at Kolkata airport were suspended twice on Friday, first when an aircraft was stranded on the runway and again when heavy rain reduced visibility.
While the shutdown caused by aircraft snag could not be averted, the rain-led disruption occurred because the primary runway that is equipped with instrument landing system was shut for maintenance. A notice to airmen had been issued, alerting pilots that the primary runway would be shut from noon till 2.45pm and that the secondary runway would be in operation during this period.
Though the secondary runway has category-I ILS that allows flight operations till 550-metre visibility, pre-commissioning procedural delays has prevented its use. Airport officials said they were hopeful of completing the procedures before November to commission it before fog sets in.
The first disruption in operation took place between 12.42pm and 12.56pm when an Air India flight arriving from Guwahati got stranded on the runway after touchdown. The pilot noticed a problem in the nose wheel hydraulic system and alerted the ATC before landing. After the plane landed, it could not steer off the runway and had to be towed along the taxi track.
10/09/11 Times of India

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Categories: airports Sep 2011