Bagdogra Airport set to clear visibility hurdle

The Bagdogra Airport in North Bengal is set to get a major boost with the commissioning of Category II Instrumental Landing System (CAT II ILS) from March 29, a top Airports Authority of India official said.
Once the new system is in place, the airport will be able to operate flights even when the visibility is as low as 350 metres, the official said.
Flight landings at the airport get affected round the year, especially in the mornings. At present, a minimum visibility of 1,200 metres is required for an aircraft to land at the airport, he added.
The notification on the commissioning of CAT II ILS at Bagdogra Airport was issued by AAI headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.

"The morning slot at our airport is not utilized at present as the airlines are reluctant to operate flights between 6 am and 11 am due to poor visibility," Director of Bagdogra Airport Rakesh R Sahay told PTI.
The visibility at the airport generally drops below 500 metres in the morning.

"Be it fog, shallow fog or heavy rain, the new system will now allow flights to land even when the visibility ranges between 500 metres and 350 metres," Sahay said.
At present, the airport remains functional mostly between 11 am and 7 pm.
"We have plans to start operations as early as 5 am in the summers and from 6 am in the winters. With the air traffic control (ATC) available at the airport till 10 pm, we will be able to handle more flights now," the airport director said.

The Bagdogra Airport had to be shut down for a week between December 2016 and January 2017 due to low visibility, leading to cancellation of over 150 flights and inconveniencing over 20,000 passengers.