Calcutta: Calcutta airport has received sanction to upgrade to the second-most advanced instrument landing system available so that aircraft can land even when visibility drops to 50 metres, a problem that had stalled flights for 50 hours last winter.
The Category III-B Instrument Landing System will be installed on the primary runway, currently equipped with CAT II-ILS that allows planes to land till visibility of 350 metres. Delhi airport is the only one in the country to have top-tier instrument landing equipment.
“CAT III-B will be installed by the end of 2015. Work is scheduled to start in February-March next year,” airport director B.P. Sharma told Metro. “We had sent a proposal to Delhi about six months back and the approval has just come,” he said.
The Airports Authority of India has chosen the southern end of the primary runway for the CAT III-B system, which will cost an estimated Rs 120 crore.
Flight operations are disrupted every winter with visibility often dropping below 350 metres in December and January. Dense fog on the runway caused havoc at the city airport on 12 days last winter, totalling 50 hours of disruption that delayed about 500 flights.
The ripple effect of any fog-induced delay in the morning often lasts hours. “Once the CAT III-B is installed, we expect delays to go down by more than 80 per cent,” airport director Sharma said.
A survey revealed that runway visibility at the city airport on foggy winter mornings usually doesn’t dip below 50 metres, in which case a CAT III-B system would potentially eliminate any chance of flight disruptions.
Airport officials said the upgrade would include an advanced signalling system and more lights on and near the runway and taxiways.
13/08/14 Telegraph
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The Category III-B Instrument Landing System will be installed on the primary runway, currently equipped with CAT II-ILS that allows planes to land till visibility of 350 metres. Delhi airport is the only one in the country to have top-tier instrument landing equipment.
“CAT III-B will be installed by the end of 2015. Work is scheduled to start in February-March next year,” airport director B.P. Sharma told Metro. “We had sent a proposal to Delhi about six months back and the approval has just come,” he said.
The Airports Authority of India has chosen the southern end of the primary runway for the CAT III-B system, which will cost an estimated Rs 120 crore.
Flight operations are disrupted every winter with visibility often dropping below 350 metres in December and January. Dense fog on the runway caused havoc at the city airport on 12 days last winter, totalling 50 hours of disruption that delayed about 500 flights.
The ripple effect of any fog-induced delay in the morning often lasts hours. “Once the CAT III-B is installed, we expect delays to go down by more than 80 per cent,” airport director Sharma said.
A survey revealed that runway visibility at the city airport on foggy winter mornings usually doesn’t dip below 50 metres, in which case a CAT III-B system would potentially eliminate any chance of flight disruptions.
Airport officials said the upgrade would include an advanced signalling system and more lights on and near the runway and taxiways.
13/08/14 Telegraph
