This story is from December 7, 2016

Indira Gandhi International airport lifts gloom, expect fog delays to be shorter

Indira Gandhi International airport lifts gloom, expect fog delays to be shorter
Fog at Delhi's IGI airport.
NEW DELHI: Flying out of Delhi this winter may not mean much hassle for you. With an increase in the number of Runway Visual Range (RVR) equipment — from 13 to 18 — and the introduction of a pre-departure sequencing system, the Met department at IGI airport has geared up to tackle fog-related problems.
According to ATC officials, these arrangements will help reduce air congestion and the number of delays this season, which is expected to witness a longer spell of fog than the past few years.
They maintained that the pre-departure sequencing would lead to lesser rescheduling.
Three runways at the Delhi airport—28, 29 and 11—are certified for CAT III B operations. This means CAT III B-compliant aircraft can land on these runways even if visibility dips as low as 50 metres. For take-off, an aircraft would require a visibility of at least 125m.
ATC officials said that pre-departure scheduling helps clear the held-up departures at an airport. This will ensure that there is no overcrowding of aircraft on the ground. “This is done through a collaborative decision making (CDM) process involving all stakeholders. Once the fog lifts, all the pilots from the aircraft waiting clearance for departure, contact the ATC. The ATC gives airlines time-slots and airlines can prioritise their flights. This is called strategic clearing of ground congestion, which allows more arrivals,” said a senior official.
A K Bhardwaj, general manager, air traffic movement at ATC, said that the process of CDM leads to optimal utilisation of the airport capacity. It also helps airlines save fuel, resulting in less carbon emissions. “The mandatory checks of all the equipment have been carried out. A refresher training for air traffic controllers was conducted at Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Delhi last month. AAI has made all the necessary arrangements to ensure safe, efficient and orderly air traffic services at IGI Airport,” he added.

Met officials said this year had witnessed the earliest onset of dense fog. They also predict a longer-than-usual spell of fog this season. “For planning of VVIP or other airline-related operations, a fog outlook for 3-5 days is being ascertained,” said R K Jenamani, director in-charge, IGI Met. He informed that a 48-hour update was also being readied every evening.
Speaking on the preparedness, DIAL CEO, I Prabhakara Rao said, “CAT-III B system installed at the Delhi airport is capable of handling flight arrivals even when the runway visibility range drops to 50m. The enhanced version of CDM ensures optimum utilisation of ATC resources, runways/taxiways, etc, resulting in reduced workload of controllers, minimum ground delays, reduced radio telephony congestion and increased level of safety.”
Rao added DIAL was devising a plan to provide smooth flow of information, on almost real-time basis, to passengers.
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