The Center on Monday directed Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to immediately operationalize IGIA’s main CAT III B runway – 28/10 – as heavy and unprecedented fog continues to cause flight disruptions across the country, especially over North India. Is.

The Cat III B runway has been closed for repair work since last September and the government has directed to reopen it immediately.

The CAT IIIB system facilitates precision approach and landing under specific visibility conditions, typically not less than 50 feet (15 m) and a visual range of not less than 200 m, but not less than 50 m.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued several instructions to airlines and airport operators to reduce the huge inconvenience caused to passengers during this fog season.

Addressing the visibility problem due to dense fog in the national capital, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said in a social media post, “Yesterday (January 14), Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog, with visibility fluctuating over several hours. There were ups and downs, and sometimes it fell to zero.” 5 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the morning,”

He said officials were forced to briefly halt operations even on CAT III runways (CAT III runways cannot handle zero-visibility operations).

The Minister said that this decision has been taken keeping in mind passenger safety, which remains the top priority for everyone in the aviation ecosystem.

The steps being taken by the government in this matter are as follows:

• Delhi Airport has been asked to immediately expedite the operationalization of the CAT III-capable fourth runway (in addition to the existing CAT III-capable runway) to the satisfaction of the DGCA to obtain the approval.
• DGCA will issue a SOP for airlines on better communication and convenience of passengers to minimize the inconvenience caused by flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather.

On the recent incident of attack on an IndiGo pilot by a passenger, the Aviation Minister said that incidents of unruly behavior amid such situations are unacceptable, and will be dealt with firmly in line with the existing legal provisions.

Delhi fog: flight disruption

According to an official, a total of five flights were diverted at Delhi airport on Monday morning due to bad weather.

The official said that between 1 am and 5 am, four flights were diverted to Jaipur and one flight to Ahmedabad.

On Sunday, 10 flights were diverted and some were canceled as airport operations were significantly affected due to low visibility conditions and dense fog.