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Domestic airlines defer decision on ILS training

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI NOV. 14. A year after the state-of-the-art Category IIIA version of the Instrument Landing System was installed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, most domestic airliners barring Indian Airlines have not even taken a decision to train their pilots to use this system. In a relatively better start, Indian Airlines flew in two Airbus expert trainers in September. They trained a couple of instructors within Indian Airlines who, in turn, have prepared six other trainers. In all, officials say, Indian Airlines has six instructors, certified by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, to train pilots to carry out ILS CATIIIA landings.

According to Indian Airlines officials, training has begun with a batch of 18 pilots and co-pilots already going about their lessons at Hyderabad. This six-day training programme includes simulator practice before pilots are asked to carry out approach runs.

With the training cycle already underway, Indian Airlines officials are hopeful that over a 100 of its pilots as well as co-pilots would be ready to carry out ILS CATIIIA landings by the end of December. "This would also be the time around which visibility would be badly affected by fog,'' says the airline spokesperson, Anup Srivastava.

But this training, officials add, is only for pilots and co-pilots flying Airbus 320 aircraft. It is understood that this is the only aircraft that has the technological compatibility with the ILS CATIIIA system. Since the Boeing 737s with the Alliance Air are technologically incompatible, officials said, its pilots have not been trained.

As for private airliners like Jet Airways and Air Sahara, a decision on whether to conduct training of pilots is yet to be taken. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Air Sahara, Uttam Bose, the airliner is yet to chalk out any such plans. "Our pilots are now finishing their training to land using ILS CATII equipment. We will take a decision on training for ILS CATIIIA only after this is over.''

Jet Airways too has decided to put its decision on hold. According to the Airways spokesperson here, Sivanandan, training pilots for ILS CATIIIA is an expensive affair.

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