Visakhapatnam: Non-availability of the Instrument Landing System (ILS), along with bad weather, frequently causes diversions or delays of flights at Visakhapatnam international airport, which is controlled by the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy had taken up works at both extremities of the runway four months ago, and the works are likely to continue for another three months. This has been creating problems for the aircraft every time bad weather prevails in the city.
On late Tuesday night, three flights were diverted to Vijayawada and Hyderabad due to poor visibility, and another three flights were delayed on Wednesday morning due to bad weather conditions. This is the fifth time that aircraft were either diverted or delayed in the past 15 days. It is recalled that three flights of IndiGo airlines were diverted to different cities from Vizag, and a few flights were delayed due to poor visibility and fog conditions on Dec 7.
This apart, four flights from different cities to Vizag were delayed on Dec 13. Another five flights were delayed on Dec 14. Again, three flights were delayed on Monday.
In most cases, it has been noted that bad weather along with non-availability of ILS caused severe losses to the Air India and IndiGo airlines, along with the passengers.
Explaining briefly about ISL, it is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid that is used to provide accurate azimuth and descent guidance signals for guidance to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions. It’s a radio-based system that helps pilots land an aircraft safely and accurately. The ILS provides guidance to the aircraft in two ways. At both ends of a runway, there are stopways and clearways to help aircraft that have issues taking off or landing.
The ILS also includes marker beacons, ground equipment, and airborne receivers. The signals from the localizer and glide slope are displayed on an instrument panel in the aircraft, usually called the omni-bearing indicator or nav indicator. The pilot controls aircraft so indications on the instrument stay centred on display, sources in airport said.
On late Tuesday night, three flights were diverted to Vijayawada and Hyderabad due to poor visibility, and another three flights were delayed on Wednesday morning due to bad weather conditions. This is the fifth time that aircraft were either diverted or delayed in the past 15 days. It is recalled that three flights of IndiGo airlines were diverted to different cities from Vizag, and a few flights were delayed due to poor visibility and fog conditions on Dec 7.
This apart, four flights from different cities to Vizag were delayed on Dec 13. Another five flights were delayed on Dec 14. Again, three flights were delayed on Monday.
In most cases, it has been noted that bad weather along with non-availability of ILS caused severe losses to the Air India and IndiGo airlines, along with the passengers.
Explaining briefly about ISL, it is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid that is used to provide accurate azimuth and descent guidance signals for guidance to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions. It’s a radio-based system that helps pilots land an aircraft safely and accurately. The ILS provides guidance to the aircraft in two ways. At both ends of a runway, there are stopways and clearways to help aircraft that have issues taking off or landing.
The ILS also includes marker beacons, ground equipment, and airborne receivers. The signals from the localizer and glide slope are displayed on an instrument panel in the aircraft, usually called the omni-bearing indicator or nav indicator. The pilot controls aircraft so indications on the instrument stay centred on display, sources in airport said.
