Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in the capital has put in place latest technologies and contingency measures to ensure that flyers are not inconvenienced by the fog expected to set in later this month, an official said Thursday.”We have made all necessary arrangements for the coming fog season and are fully prepared. We have also introduced new technologies like computerised air-side route lighting system,” Delhi International Airport Limited’s (DIAL) vice president (terminal management) Ashwani Khanna said.

Another senior DIAL official said the new air-field lighting system will help in guiding aircrafts to their parking bays.

“This new technology will help in saving time and is computerized so the best possible route is given to the aircraft to reach its parking bay,” he said.

He added that IGI airport is the only airport in the country to feature CAT (category) IIIB ILS (instrument landing system), which allows compliant aircrafts and trained pilots to land even when the runway visibility is at 50 metres.

“DIAL has also provided 120 parking bays with CAT III compatible lighting systems. The additional number of parking bays will provide better taxi routings to smoothen aircraft movement and prioritise the movement of CAT III-enabled aircrafts,” he added.

Delhi, which experiences heavy fog from the third week of December to early February, has not witnessed any significant fog activity this month, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“We expect the fog to set in by the third week of December to the last week of January. We have also made necessary arrangements to predict and measure the fog so as to better coordinate with other agencies like DIAL,” director in-charge of IGI airport’s meteorological watch office Dr. Rajendra Kumar Jenamani said.

The airport is also ready with passenger facilities like specially trained customer service staff, a 24 hour call centre and adequate food and beverage outlets.

“We also have 13,000 seats in T-3 (terminal-3) and over 2,200 at domestic terminal T-1D, with adequate food and beverage arrangements to cater to the large number of passengers of disrupted flights,” Khanna said.

Recently, complimentary snooze chairs have been positioned at domestic and international piers, and postpaid taxis have also been introduced.

Khanna said that options for approaching the snazzy new terminal T-3 and T-1D have also been increased with the commissioning of the Northern Access Road, Central Spine road and the airport underpass.

“Tow-away cranes and a fire tender will be deployed. Additional traffic marshals will help in smooth flow of taxis during fog season,” he said.