Proactive Measures Led to Significant Decrease in Flight Cancellations, Diversions During Foggy Conditions: Scindia
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 14th Oct. The Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation held a meeting in New Delhi to discuss “Fog Planning.” The meeting was chaired by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia.
Attendees included Minister of State of Civil Aviation General (Retd.) Dr. V.K. Singh, Members of Parliament, and officers from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA, Airports Authority of India, and other related organizations.
Scindia highlighted the proactive approach taken by the Ministry, DGCA, and AAI, which has resulted in a significant decrease in flight cancellations and diversions during foggy conditions, despite a 22% increase in aircraft movements over the past two years.
In the 2021-22 period, out of a total of 136,374 aircraft movements, only 124 flights were canceled, accounting for a cancellation rate of 0.09%.
This figure further decreased to 86 cancellations out of 166,927 aircraft movements in 2022-23, resulting in a cancellation rate of 0.05%. Similarly, there were 58 flight diversions from the eight main fog-prone airports in 2021-22, which reduced to 14 in 2022-23.
The Minister explained that fog is a weather phenomenon that mainly affects visibility below 1000 meters, particularly in the northern parts of India during the winter season.
It impacts flight operations as visibility deteriorates due to water droplets and dust in the air close to the ground.
The period between December 10th and February 10th is typically considered the fog season.
Scindia emphasized that the DGCA conducts an annual exercise to ensure that airlines and aerodrome operators are prepared for foggy conditions in advance, minimizing disruptions and service interruptions such as flight cancellations and diversions.
The DGCA engages with stakeholders to assess the readiness of support systems on the ground and the availability of aircraft and trained crew for operations in CAT II/III conditions. Currently, there are 4,804 flight crew members qualified for CAT II/III, including 2,979 Captains and 1,825 Co-pilots.
Additionally, there are six airports equipped with CAT III landing facilities, allowing flights to land with low runway visibility.
Eight airports will be enabled with CAT I capability, and four airports will have their facilities upgraded from CAT I to CAT II.
During the fog season, airlines are instructed to adjust their flight schedules to exclude non-CAT II/CAT III compliant aircraft from operation.
They are also required to ensure the appropriate scheduling of CAT II/CAT III qualified crew members.
The Members of Parliament commended the Ministry for its proactive measures in preparing for foggy conditions in advance, leading to minimized service disruptions. They also provided valuable suggestions in this regard.
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