The Delhi airport is all set to tackle fog conditions this season with GPS-enabled vehicle navigational system, which will enable better aircraft guidance.
The announcement was made at a joint fog workshop conducted by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Air Traffic Control (ATC) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday.
DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao said the Delhi airport has eight such navigational vehicles, which will now be enabled with GPS to ensure better coordination for pilots during dense fog conditions.
Synergy among staff
He also said that Delhi’s fog is a prime example of synergy among the ATCs, airlines, ground handlers, Meteorological Department and the airport staff.
“The three runways 28, 29 and 11 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport are certified for CAT-III operations, which will allow landing of compliant aircrafts with visibility as low as 50 metres. The re-commissioning of Terminal-2 [T2] will be of big help for Terminal-1 [T1] as it has offloaded passenger and aircraft traffic at T1,” Mr. Rao said.
He said the newly introduced GPS-based navigational system for follow-me vehicles will also help in effective guidance of aircraft during dense fog.
Besides ensuring availability of flight information display system, the airport operator said it will display weather-related information on Master Antenna Televisions at the terminals and provide regular updates to passengers and visitors on expected departure and arrival time of flights during fog.
Help desks
Along with this, two additional help desks have been set up at terminal entrances, where information on cancellations and delays will be provided, they said.
R.K. Jenamani, the director incharge of the IGI Airport meteorological unit, said the fog is yet to kick in this year. “It is likely to come in after December 17. We had already experienced nearly eight spells of fog by this time last year but are yet to experience that this year,” Dr. Jenamani said.
Keeping continuous monitoring of the weather in check, the airport authority said facilities available at T3, T2 and T1-D for foggy conditions are aimed at providing passengers with timely information and offer them all possible amenities.
