Chandigarh International Airport: Instrument landing system develops snag, can hit flights

Notam is a written advisory for the airlines about the circumstances relating to the state of flying.

Airport sources said that the orders had been extended till February 27 evening. “The glide part of the ILS last week developed a problem and the airlines were communicated about it. The order will now remain in place till 8 pm on February 27,” an airport official said.

He said if the city sees bad weather in the coming days, there would be delays in the flight operations. “No flight can land if the visibility goes below 2,400 metres,” said the official.

When contacted, a senior Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) official told Chandigarh Newsline that the “problem has been fixed” and they were now waiting for a special flight from Delhi, for the calibration which is mandatory after the repair and also to allow the aircraft to land at 1,200 metres.

“A special flight comes from Delhi for this job. The flight had come recently, but due to some permission, it couldn’t complete the work. We are expecting the flight to come soon to Chandigarh, following which again 1,200 metres visibility would be applicable for the airlines,” the official said.

While the runway of the Chandigarh International Airport is controlled by the Indian Air Force, the CAT I instrument landing system (ILS) equipped on the runway belongs to the Airports Authority of India.

ILS is a system which provides navigation for aircraft at the time of landing. It plays an important role in the time of reduced visibility on the runway. Chandigarh airport has CAT I installed and of late, there has been a growing demand that upgraded CAT ILS should be installed at the airport.