DGCA to relax norms for flight take off during fog

Directorate General of Civil Aviation is considering relaxing flight take-off norms during fog season, allowing flights to fly even at low runway visibility range from next week. According to industry sources, in a meeting held this weekend, the DGCA has yielded to a request from major airline operators, like Jet Airways, Air India and Spicejet, to relax the existing norms. "Subject to meeting certain conditions, the DGCA has agreed to relax the low take-off minima (LTM) norms, thereby allowing qualified airlines to take off at a runway visibility range (RVR) of 150 metres," the sources said. As per the current norms airlines are allowed to take off at a RVR of 500 metres. The sources, however, said in order to avail the relaxed norms, airlines would have to meet the criteria set by the DGCA, including crew training and pilot qualification. It would also be dependent on the availability of requisite technological facilities at the airports.

Moreover, the DGCA has also yielded to the request of the airlines to de-link landing and take-off conditions for all the qualified carriers for the new LTM, the sources added. Apart from failing to train adequate number of pilots in CAT III-B landing system, most domestic carriers are drawing Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ire on other fronts. "The airlines have not stationed adequate number of ILS-trained pilots at other stations because of which incoming flights to Delhi in fog get severely affected and the entire schedule goes haywire causing chain of delays. When there's a possibility of fog lifting from IGI, all pilots — CAT-compliant and otherwise — head for Delhi and there's sudden congestion here that delays everything," said a senior official. The DGCA has found that many airlines don't take the engine start up clearance from the ATC according to their scheduled departure time because of which the next flight is given the go ahead.

"Airlines have been asked to monitor the Met forecasts closely and accordingly inform passengers. We have found that some carriers do not have their aircraft ready in time and this is also aggravating the problem of delays," said the official. The low-cost carriers were told in no uncertain terms that they have to provide snacks and hot beverages to passengers of delayed flights. Sources in the aviation industry said the annual mess at IGI is a result of mess ups on all fronts — airlines, civil aviation ministry and the DGCA. "The government is only now planning to make ILS training must for all pilots. The basic fact is that no Indian airport, especially crowded ones like Delhi and Mumbai, have the infrastructure to handle the air traffic boom," said an official.

visit us @ http://www.silkrouteholidays.com