The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) will install Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) in the upcoming Kannur international airport to ensure the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations.
The AWOS will be installed, as per the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), at the cost of Rs.3 crore in the fourth international airport of the State. The facilities will be set up in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower.
The services to be provided by the IMD through the AWOS include weather observation, weather forecast, aerodrome warning and climatology. The IMD will install, and maintain, the latest machines.
The KIAL and the IMD signed a Memorandum of Understanding for AWOS in Delhi on Wednesday. The MoU was signed between the KIAL Managing Director G. Chandramouli and Deputy Director General, IMD, M.K. Bhatnagar. Director General, IMD, Lakshman Singh Rathore and Additional Project Engineer, KIAL, K.S. Shibukumar were present.
Mr. Chandramouli told The Hindu that the MoU would be valid for three years after which it would be renewed. Instead of passing the information manually to the ATC and through them to the pilot, the IMD will send minute-wise weather updates in the form of audio messages directly to the pilot. The pilot can choose to receive this information every two or three minutes.
The commander of the aircraft is required to know the accurate wind speeds and wind gusts, wind direction, temperature and dew point, visibility, density altitude, cloud ceiling, rain-snow-drizzle identification, thunderstorm, lightning for the aircraft operations.
Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) board has cleared the first tranche of payment for the 26 per cent equity taken by the AAI in the Kannur airport. A sum of Rs.100 crore of the total Rs.260 crore had been cleared by the board, sources said.