Chandigarh airport has international wings, fails to fly

Three months after the international airport was inaugurated with much fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 11, Chandigarh still awaits aerial connectivity with any of the foreign country.
Sources in the Airport Authority of India said the foggy winters were not a good time to introduce international flights, not at least till Indian Air Force (IAF) installs CAT-III (Category-III) instrument landing system to enable landing of aircrafts in poor visibility.
An official at the Chandigarh International Airport, on condition of anonymity, said, “There is a perception that clearance from the ministry of defence (MOD) to run international flights is difficult to acquire. So, airlines are not applying.”
When this correspondent asked the officials what was stopping them from introducing the international flights, they said, “Nothing is stopping us. For starting international flights, a number of factors has to be taken care of, such as relations with the countries, seat allotment by the government, route approvals, slot in foreign airports, market surveys of airlines and availability of aircrafts with airlines.”
The officials said that the airport was ready and airlines were doing market surveys to assess the viability of international flights and the preferred countries. They said that for the time being, the airport is open from 6am to 8pm and if any airline desired to introduce an international flight during this time, it would get it.
Chief executive officer of the Chandigarh International Airport Sunil Dutt said, “Once the CAT-III instrument landing system is in place, chances of international flights will go up considerably. We are looking forward to the international flights once the foggy conditions subsided.”
Now, domestic flights can take off after 8pm
Meanwhile, bringing relief to many tricity residents, the defence ministry has approved the extension of watch hours at the airport for all the domestic flights. From now on, all the flights from Chandigarh to other destinations will be free to take off after 8pm as well.
Secretary, civil aviation (Punjab) Vishwajeet Khanna confirmed that the defence ministry had recently written to the Punjab chief minister stating that the airlines wishing to introduce flights after 8pm be allowed. The authorities have circulated the notice to the Airport Authority of India in this regard.
Till date, the civil aircraft operations in Chandigarh were allowed from sunrise to 8pm only.
Khanna said, “We have received in writing that watch hours will never be an issue anymore. The airlines can apply for starting flights even after the existing watch hours. We have requested the IAF to provide us Category-III instrument landing system at earliest.”
Instrument Landing System (ILS)
Instrument landing system (ILS) is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during adverse meteorological conditions, such as low visibility due to fog, rain, or snow. The instruments are categorised as CAT-I, II , III-A, III-B and III-C, with the last enabling the aircrafts to land even in zero visibility. The Chandigarh airport is awaiting installation of CAT-III instrument landing system.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vistara Domestic Premium Economy vs. Economy – Is The Upgrade Worth It?

Economy on Vistara As one of only two  full-service carriers  in India, Vistara offers a high-quality economy product. On its A320, which used on most domestic routes, it offers 18-inch wide seats with a pitch of 29-30 inches. While this does sound standard, the well-padded seats and adjustable headrest make for a much more comfortable offering than its low-cost competitors. The seats also offer an acceptable 3″ recline. In terms of service, Vistara is one of the few airlines offering hot meals on domestic routes (minus short routes under an hour). All economy passengers, except those booked on Economy Lite fares, receive a meal along with hot or cold beverages. From personal experience, the meals are good and enough for domestic hops. For those traveling on Lite fares, only complimentary hot beverages are available. Vistara also has a small buy-on-board menu, which features packaged snacks and drinks, along with some hot instant meals. Originally, the airline served all passenger’s me
Read more

Why the Airbus A340 Has A Middle Landing Gear

Image
The  Airbus A340  was specially designed for long haul flying and had something not seen with other widebody aircraft flying today. It was a unique middle landing gear that allowed the plane to take off with heavier loads and carry more fuel for its four hungry engines. What is the middle landing gear? If you have ever looked carefully at a picture of an A340 (or if you are lucky, in real life), you might have noticed an extra landing gear on the belly in the middle of the plane. Here it is on a Virgin Atlantic  Airbus A340-600  to the rear of the aircraft. Looking at the bottom of an A340 you’ll see that there are already two other sets of landing gears under the wings, why would an aircraft need a third in the middle? Why some A340s have the middle landing gear Plain and simple, the extra landing gear allows the A340 aircraft to have a higher MTOW (maximum take-off weight). This means more passengers and cargo, plus more fuel to go a longer distance. Perfect for t
Read more

Preparing To Start Domestic Flight Operations Within A Week: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri

The domestic flight operations are likely to resume within a week, says Union Civil Aviation Minister  Hardeep Singh Puri . The commercial flight operations remain suspended since March 24 after the announcement of nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. In an interview with  Outlook ’s  Preetha Nair , the Union Minister also talks about the government’s massive plan to evacuate stranded Indians and the logistical challenges involved. He also says a decision on operating flights between green zones of the country will soon be taken. You have hinted that the commercial flight operations are set to begin after May 15 in a calibrated way. Can you elaborate? We are preparing to start domestic flight operations even before May 15. My effort will be to try and move in the direction of starting it very soon. I can’t put a date on it because when you are planning evacuation operations, you need the co-operation of the state governments. In order to open up domestic civil avia
Read more