বাংলায় পড়ুন
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is now CAT-IIB compliant, allowing aircrafts to land even under 50-metre visibility. At present, an aircraft requires a minimum visibility of 350-metres to land safely.
CAT-IIIB is an instrument landing system (ILS) that will help guide pilots to land during difficult visibility conditions. The ILS guides an aircraft with the help of radio signals and high intensity lighting. An automatic landing system is mandatory for Category III operations. “During peak fog, flights at other airports too are delayed. Now those close to Kolkata can be diverted here,” said another official. “This will also help pilots land the aircraft easily during heavy rainfall.”
The main runway has two sides – one for planes landing from Madhyamgram area and the other for flights that land from Rajarhat area. The Madhyamgram side will remain CAT II compliant while the Rajarhat side will be upgraded. The work to upgrade the runway began last year. As per a technical expert it is good that the work related to upgrading the runway is near completion but it is equally important to see if Boeing aircraft are equipped to use CAT IIIB ILS. It is important that they have trained pilots too.
