Delhi airport geared up for safe flight ops during fog

NEW DELHI: The Delhi international airport is geared up to ensure safe flight operations amid increasing fog in the city, operator DIAL said on Tuesday.

The airport utilises an Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) cell -- which has representatives of domestic airlines, air traffic control and the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) -- for better coordination when visibility reduces due to fog, it mentioned.

The airport has three runways, and they are equipped with a landing system that allows CAT-III B operations, the DIAL stated.

"A CAT III B compliant infrastructure allows aircraft to land with a minimum visibility of 50 metres. At IGI (Indira Gandhi International) airport, an aircraft can take off with a visibility of 125 metres," it said.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, at present, Terminal 3 is handling 18 flights an hour, and Terminal 2 is handling nine flights per hour, the DIAL said.

"This in conjunction with other safety measures in place already would provide a safe environment to the flyers," it added.

The Civil Aviation Ministry had resumed scheduled domestic passenger services from May 25, after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

However, the airlines were allowed to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights.

This limit has been gradually increased by the ministry, and the airlines are currently permitted to operate up to a maximum of 80 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights.

The DIAL will also continue to assist flyers 24x7, especially through social media, to ensure minimal inconvenience to them, a statement said.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since March 23 due to the pandemic.

However, airlines have been permitted to operate special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May this year and under the bilateral air bubble pacts since July.