By IANS,
New Delhi : Air India will deploy nearly 700 pilots trained in category-III instrument landing system to tackle fog in the coming winter months.
“We’ll deploy one of the largest pools of nearly 700 pilots trained for category III operations in the upcoming fog season,” a senior Air India official told IANS.
“A roster is being prepared to provide adequate numbers of category III-rated pilots to operate flights to and from all metros to New Delhi,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
CAT-III ILS can track runway visibility of up to 50 metres.
The airline has also made provisions for providing a flight to and from New Delhi to Mumbai every hour from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. in winter.
The official said that in the first phase of operation, aircrafts designated for the early morning departures from north India would be parked overnight on category III-enabled parking bays.
Fog is expected to hit the national capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dec 10 and the condition is likely to continue till February next year, the India Meteorological Department has told aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
DGCA chief Arun Mishra recently met representatives of airport operators, domestic and foreign airlines, meteorological department and security agencies to review fog preparedness at north Indian airports.