IGI prepared to handle flight operations during dense fog

Dense fog which had disrupted flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport here last week is likely to return again tomorrow even as the airport authorities today said they are fully prepared to handle the situation.
Hundreds of flights were delayed and many cancelled besides diversion of more the two dozen IGIA-bound aircraft to the nearby airports after dense fog hit the National capital last week.
"The fog season is likely to last from the second week of December to the second week of February. On average there will be about 20-21 days of dense fog during this period," Head of the official weather forecasting agency IMD, R K Jenamani said.

He said that the second spell of dense fog is likely to hit the capital from tomorrow, adding, "last year there were 22 days of dense fog during the winter."
Jenamani said pollution over Delhi was adding to fog problems.
He said that due to an increasingly better coordination among all the stake holders, the number of diversion due to fog at Delhi airport had came down to 44 in the last winter season as against 144 in 2014-15.

"We are fully prepared to handle flight operations this year. CAT-IIIB system installed at Delhi Airport is capable of handling flight arrivals with Runway Visibility Range of up to 50 M. We are proud of the team-work displayed by IGIA stakeholders every fog season with a collective aim of enhancing passenger convenience and safety," DIAL Chief Executive Officer I Prabhakara Rao said.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is a joint venture company which runs Delhi Airport.
Three runways at the IGI Airport - 28, 29 and 11 are certified for CAT III B operations, which would allow landing of the compliant aircraft with visibility as low as 50 meters, Aircraft can take off with visibility of 125 M.
Rao said that to the MET office has installed 18 RVR (Runway Visual Range) devices at Delhi Airport with full redundancy on main RWYs 11/29 and 10/28 and partial redundancy on RWY 27.
RVR helps a pilot operating an aircraft to accurately measure the visibility at various points on the runway and aids in decision making on whether it is safe to land the aircraft in foggy conditions.

"We aim to reduce delays and congestion due to fog, by devising a plan that would ensure smooth flow of flight information, on an almost real time basis, to the passengers," he added.
Observing that Varanasi has been having zero visibility for the last one week from 2300 hours to 1000 hours and that the same in Lucknow, he said, "Seven days is a good amount of time to prove that we are not going to have less fog," Jenamani added.
"AAI has made all the necessary arrangements to ensure uninterrupted provision of safe, efficient and orderly Air Traffic Services at IGI Airport. All the DGCA mandated guidelines and recommendations in respect of IGI Airport, have been implemented by AAI," AK Bhardwaj, General Manager, Air Traffic Movement (ATM)-ATC said.

The Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) process to effectively manage any disruptions due to fog is already in place and all the stakeholders are on-board to ensure that there is less inconvenience to the air travellers during the winter months, he added.