What the fog! Airlines still can't deal with this problem

LANDING INTO TROUBLE: This could be the scene at the airport once again.

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New Delhi: It looks like there won't be any respite from fog delays for air passengers this winter too. Despite Government warnings, domestic airlines have still not trained their pilots on Category 3B landing systems.

And bearing the brunt would be frequent flyers like Raja Pandit, who is a musician by profession. He has missed several recordings and shows in the past couple of years. And this is because most airlines are yet to train their pilots or equip their planes to land using the advanced category 3B landing systems.

This low visibility landing system helps aircraft land safely with visibility as low as 50 metres.

While the Met Department has predicted that heavy fog is likely to affect airline operations, domestic carriers are still jittery and uncomfortable talking about their preparedness to handle the fog.

Only Air India pilots and few private airlines pilots are capable of handling this system. Probably Rs 4 lakh to train a pilot for 15 days of fog over north India does not make economic sense to most other airlines.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation's strict upgradation guidelines are also a deterrent. So, last year only two flights landed using this system.

“Some airlines don't have Cat 3B compliance like Jet and Spice. They don't have the planes or the pilots trained for the system,” aviation expert Kapil Kaul said.

So when runway visibility drops below 50, expect a long wait at the airport on those foggy days.