Kolkata: Kolkata airport on Wednesday faced fog-related flight disruptions after a critical instrument that measures the visibility in the middle of the runway developed a technical snag.
Airport sources said that the technical snag in the device led to the downgrading of the category of instrument landing system at the airport from CAT III-B to CAT I. Notably, CAT III-B allows flights to operate even in extremely low visibility whereas CAT I needs considerably higher visibility for handling operations smoothly.
According to a report published in the Times of India (TOI), seeing the current situation, airport authorities are worried about the operations of the middle runway visual range (mid-RVR) and fear more disruptions in the coming months as this technical snag can result in huge delays and crowding in the terminal during the busy winter holiday season.
Meanwhile, a senior airport official was quoted by TOI as saying that the airport meteorology department is the custodian of the RVR equipment and the authorities had asked them to repair it after it became unserviceable last month.
As per reports by TOI, the ILS Category III-B landing system installed at Kolkata airport allows aircraft to land in visibility up to 550 metres on the runway. However, the landing was suspended on Wednesday morning as visibility on the runway dropped below 550m.
On the other hand, due to the absence of the mid-RVR, take off was suspended below 200m.
09/12/21 India Today
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