Srinagar, Apr 13: The work on the installation of Instrument Landing System (ILS) CAT II at Srinagar International Airport has been completed and its commissioning is expected by mid Jul 2023, officials on Thursday said.
Director, Airports Authority of India, Srinagar, Kuldeep Singh told Rising Kashmir that the installation of ILS Cat II has already been completed.
“The calibration of this new system has also been completed on Mar 30th. The ILS approach procedure designing process will commence in mid May 2023 and the commissioning of new ILS CAT II is expected by mid July 2023,” he said.
About not operating flights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after 5 PM, Singh said they operate more than 40 flights every day. The all up weight of one aircraft is between 60 to 80 tonnes and continuous use of the runway with such heavy loads damages its surface.
“Therefore, frequent repairs are necessary, we carry out such repairs in night time so that normal flight operations may continue in day time. It is because of this activity on Fri, Sat and Sun after 5 pm that flights are not being operated during these times,” he said.
Singh said It is a precautionary safety measure and meticulously followed at all airports.
Another official at the airport said an advanced ILS project has been undertaken under the IAF’s “Modernization of Airport Facilities and Infrastructure (MAFI)” scheme.
“The upgradation of ILS CAT II will ensure that flight operations are undertaken in low visibility particularly during the foggy weather conditions. Last year many flights were cancelled due to low visibility at the airport, the official said.
He said minimum visibility required for operation of flights at the Airport is around 1300-meter and new ILS will drastically reduce the required visibility.
“We have state-of-the-art landing and navigation facilities and will continuously strive for their improvement in line with the increase in traffic,” he said.
The official said the equipment at the airport measures up to safety standards of ICAO and BCAS.
“We have installed equipment at the airport including Doppler Very High-Frequency Omni Range (DVOR), Non-Directional Beacon (NDB), Instrument Landing System (ILS), X-Ray Baggage Inspection System(XBIS), Inline Baggage Screening System (ILBS) that can detect explosives easily and Explosive Trace Detection (ETD),” he said.
