Dense fog is yet to descend on Delhi, but it has already started to affect flight schedules at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
On Wednesday, the airport witnessed moderate fog that didn’t really hamper flight movement here, but bad visibility at nearby airports like Lucknow, Amritsar and Varanasi meant that flights destined to these airports were diverted to Delhi. While two out of IGIA’s three runways are equipped to handle flight operations in near zero visibility, airports like Lucknow, Amritsar, Varanasi and Jaipur are not.
“Delhi airport handles nearly 1,000 flights a day. Flight operations are only going to get tough when dense fog envelops the airport. If flights from nearby airports are also diverted here, we would have more than we can handle,” said a source at the airport who didn’t wish to be named. “Also, if some flight is unable to land in Delhi, it would be difficult to divert them to these airports if visibility is poor there,” he added.
On Wednesday, five flights from Amritsar, including two SpiceJet flights and a Jet Airways flight were diverted to Delhi due to bad weather in Amritsar. One Air India Express flight from Lucknow was also diverted to Delhi due to bad weather.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles air traffic movement at all civil Indian airports, however, promises that things would be better soon. Airports like Lucknow and Amritsar, which witness dense fog but have only Category (CAT) I Instrument Landing System (ILS), are being upgraded to CAT II.
CAT I ILS guides pilots in landing aircraft when visibility is up to 550 metres, while CAT II can help them land in visibility of up to 350 metres. The Delhi airport is equipped with CAT III- B ILS, which can operate in visibility of up to 50 metres.
“The ILS at Lucknow and Amritsar airports have been upgraded from CAT I to CAT II. The calibration of the ILS is being done and the certification for operations would be provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation,” said Mr. A.K. Datta, member (ANS), AAI. He said that the ILS at these airports would be operational within a week.
Dr. R.K. Jenamani, head of the IGIA Met office said that visibility at Lucknow, Amritsar, Varanasi and Gaya had gone below 50 metres due to dense fog.
