Dum Dum:
Precision landing in dense winter fog with a visibility limit of 50 metres will become possible at Calcutta airport from January 4, when the Category III-B instrument landing system makes it debut on the primary runway.
An official of the Airports Authority of India said on Monday that pilots trained to land aircraft in low visibility were practising assisted touchdown during non-peak hours. “Visibility is fine as of now but pilots are having drills in preparation for the launch.”
He said air traffic control personnel were also acquainting themselves with the new system.
CAT III-B, the answer to fog-induced flight delays almost every January, was sanctioned for the city airport in early 2014 and cost Rs 130 crore to install. Metro had reported on November 30 about the instrument landing system awaiting a final clearance by the directorate-general of civil aviation.
“All inspections have been completed and we are ready for operations. We will be providing the facility by the cut-off date and it is up to the airlines to use it,” the official said.
To be able to use the CAT III-B system, airlines need compatible aircraft and pilots trained to operate in low-visibility conditions.
Captain Sarvesh Gupta, the chairman of the airline operators’ committee in Calcutta, said most pilots flying in India were trained in CAT III-B operations. It pays for airlines to have pilots compliant with CAT III-B procedures because fog delays translate into loss of revenue.
Between late December and mid-February, flights are often disrupted because of dense fog in the morning and night. According to officials, such disruptions usually happen between 3am and 9am, when the maximum number of flights operate.
The CAT II instrument landing system currently in operation enables aircraft to land till visibility of 350m. This is inadequate for a city where visibility often dips much lower in winter.
Whenever flights have to be diverted, not only do passengers suffer but affected airlines also take a financial hit. Apart from burning additional fuel, an airline has to pay landing and parking charges at the alternative airport. If the delay is long, arranging accommodation for passengers entails more expenditure.
“When hundreds of passengers are stranded at an airport, infrastructure is tested as well. The washrooms are used by more people than they can handle and there is sometimes no place for passengers to even sit,” Gupta said.
Airport officials expect CAT III-B to almost eliminate fog-induced disruptions because visibility hardly, if ever, drops below 50m in Calcutta.
The number of lights along the centreline of the primary runway have been doubled as part of the upgrade from CAT-II to III-B.
The new instrument landing system has been installed on the southern side of the primary runway because the wind blows from north to south during winter in these parts. A tailwind would increase the possibility of an aircraft overshooting the runway while landing.
The new system also includes an advanced signalling mechanism.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calutta / by Sanjay Mandal / December 19th, 2017