The Centre on Monday directed Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to immediately operationalise IGIA’s main CAT III B runway – 28/10 – as heavy and unprecedented fog continues to cause flight disruptions across the country, especially North India.
The CAT III B runway has been closed for repair work since last September and the government has directed to make it operational immediately.
A CAT IIIB system facilitates precise approach and landing under specific visibility conditions, typically no less than 50 feet (15m) and a visual range of fewer than 200 meters, but not below 50 meters.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a slew of directives to airlines and airport operators to reduce the massive inconvenience being caused to flyers during this foggy season.
Addressing the visibility issue due to dense fog in the national capital, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in a social media post said “Yesterday (Jan 14), Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 am and 9 am,”
He added that the authorities were compelled to enforce a shutdown of operations for some time even on CAT III runways (CAT III runways cannot handle Zero-Visibility operations).
The minister said that the decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem.