New weather systems for airports

PUNE: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has selected an advanced air weather information system from Australia to bring more safety to Indian skies.

The installation of the system will begin at the New Delhi domestic and international airports in three days’ time.

The Mumbai international and domestic airports will get it in 12 days. It will be functional in Delhi before Republic Day, IMD’s Pune-based acting additional director general, RD Vasistha, told DNA in an interview.

“The system will help pilots make last-minute landing decisions and help reduce weather-related air mishaps,” Vasistha said. 

The new system, which will provide all weather-related information upto 50 metres before landing or takeoff, will be specially useful during winter in New Delhi, when fog leads to poor or zero-visibility.

“At New Delhi airport,  the facility will be of great assistance to the pilot to decide whether or not to take off or land,” Vasistha said.

Pune airport director Deepak Shastri said the system would help make flights safer. The system would ensure maximum information dissemination to the pilot throughout the runaway and flight period using satellite communication.

“Pune has sufficient instrumentation as per its requirement and the system in New Delhi or Mumbai may not be needed here,” Shastri added.

The Australian system was selected with IMD’s help which also undertook a survey of Indian airports for suitability. “Most of the key elements in the system are from Australia, but IMD, Pune, had a role in selecting the instrumentation and in the survey of airports, among other things,” said Vasistha.

He said the installation of the system in New Delhi and Mumbai would cost Rs2 crore.

Last year, a committee comprising IMD, the directorate-general of civil aviation, the Indian Air Force and the Airports Authority of India was established to implement the warning system.

Vasistha said that after a survey of Indian airports, New Delhi and Mumbai were chosen for the first installation. The earlier systems had limitations as the information was available in bits and pieces to the air traffic controller and the pilot.

“Now all the information will be integrated using satellite communication and a clearer picture of weather conditions will be provided to the pilot,” he said.

Delhi airport Met department officials are upbeat about the new system and view its installation as a crucial step towards air safety. The new system will be installed on both ends of runway 27, which earlier did not have a gadget to measure runway visibility range (RVR).

The airport now has a dedicated single-runway operation system. “The new system will provide round-the-clock information like wind direction, air pressure and runway visibility, which will be passed on to all aircraft entering Delhi air space,” said a senior Delhi airport official.