E-Paper
CAT-3 installation found unviable at Chandigarh airport
Authorities say obstructions in the airfield make the advance instrument landing system out of question; winter flight cancellations expected to continue
The long wait for a CAT-3 instrument landing system (ILS) at the Chandigarh International Airport has ended in authorities finding it unviable.
With obstructions in the airfield, installation of the system is not possible, which means cancellation of flights amid heavy fog in the winter will continue.
A radio navigation system, ILS provides pilots short-range guidance to land in poor visibility conditions. Over the years, fog and inclement weather have been hitting operations at the Chandigarh airport every winter.
An aircraft requires at least 100-metre visibility to land safely. At present, the airport has a CAT-2 system, which works only till as low as 350-metre visibility. The CAT-3 system permits flight operations even when visibility drops to as low as 50 metres.
Sanjeev Vashisht, member of the Chandigarh International Airport Advisory Committee, said, “To install CAT-3 ILS, the air force first needs to remove some obstructions. In the present situation, this is not possible.”
Ajay Bhardwaj, chief executive officer of the airport, said the remaining work on the CAT-2 system was completed and aircraft will be able to land when visibility was between 350metres and 800 metres. “Upgrade of CAT-1 ILS is 60% completed. It will be ready before winter and will be used when visibility is between 550 metres and 1,200 metres.”
While the Airport Authority of India (AAI) controls the functioning of the civil terminal in partnership with Punjab and Haryana, the runway operation and air traffic control is under the Chandigarh Air Force station.
Was in the works for two years
Earlier allowing flight operations only till 6pm, the airport started round-the-clock landings in April 2019, with a wider runway and CAT-2 system in place.
Back then, all stakeholders, including the civil aviation ministry, Indian Air Force (IAF) and AAI, had agreed to install the much-needed CAT-3 ILS at the airport to facilitate flight seamless operations.
The AAI board of directors even approved allotment of work to Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division, but the agency eventually failed to get permission from the defence ministry.
A month before, taking note of a 2015 petition on infrastructural deficiencies at the airport, the Punjab and Haryana high court had also directed the Chief of Defence Staff, departments of civil aviation and military affairs, defence ministry, AAI and other stakeholders to examine and decide on installation of the advanced ILS.
The directions had come after the department of military affairs submitted that the installation of CAT-3 ILS will entail demolition and relocation of most of functional infrastructure of a military airfield as well as national air defence assets. This would be detrimental to the operational needs of the IAF, military flying and national air defence, the court was informed. The case remains sub-judice.
