Delhi airport says all three runways ready for low visibility take-off

Delhi airport  will be able to use all its three runways for low visibility operations in fog this winter.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) says it has put in place measures to minimise flight delays and passenger inconvenience with additional parking bays, improved decision making processes and aids to measure runway visibility.

The airport handles 900 flight movements daily. It is the only one in the country with CAT-IIIB instrument landing  facilities. These allow for landing in 50-metre visibility and take-off above 125 metres.

However, only two of its three runways a equipped with this system. Now, the meteorological department has equipped  the third runway (09/27, close to terminals 1C and 1D) with aids to enable its use for departures in 400-metre visibility.

It would be the first time this runway can be used for take-offs in low visibility winter conditions.

DIAL says it has added seven new parking bays and improved its collaborative decision making processes.

There are 90-95 aircraft parked overnight for take-off in the morning and it is crucial for airport managers to ensure these aren't delayed.

“ We have introduced pre-departure sequencing (and) this will enable us to recover much faster at the time of flight disruption during low visibility. We aim to reduce delays and congestion due to fog, by devising a plan that would ensure smooth flow of flight information, almost on a real-time basis, to passengers,” said I Prabhakara Rao, chief executive of DIAL.