CHENNAI: “A disaster is waiting to happen at the Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair,” remarked a pilot who frequently flies to the island.
As per fire-fighting norms, the airport is authorised to handle medium-sized planes like the Airbus 320 or Boeing 737-700. But, it has been allowing bigger aircraft to land and take off without putting in place measures to handle emergencies.
According to the pilot, airline companies often operate bigger planes like the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus 321 to the airport, controlled by the Navy.
Added to such violations is the topography of the place that makes the facility unsafe.
With only limited flights that operate only during the morning, the airline companies often attempt to pack in maximum number of passengers per flight. So, they very often operate bigger flights. Post-noon operations are not possible due to tailwind conditions.
Port Blair airport is a critical airfield in many ways. The airport has a single runway of 3,290 m (10,794 ft) length. A road crosses the runway and traffic must be stopped for an aircraft to take off. Being an island, runway flooding and waterlogging were quite common.
However, a senior aviation expert termed that airfield as unsafe and not critical. “On one end, there is sea and on the other a steep slope. The runway is unidirectional where landing is possible only on rwy-04 and take off only on rwy-22 owing to the mountain on the other side. Markings on the runway are wrong. There is a public road from where the runway is accessible, if one crosses the mountain,” the expert added.
An aircraft that has once committed to land cannot go around due to the hilly terrain. “Pilots have to use their best skills while landing as the go-around option is not available. As it is flying mostly over ocean, all aircraft flying there should have at least two flight management computers because if one breaks down, the other will come handy. Landing is most critical. Missing the touch down zone could be fatal as undershooting will cause ditching and over shooting will cause a collision with the mountain. It is a declared critical airfield, hence pilots need to be specially trained and qualified. During take-off also, one has to be judicious because if the aircraft does not stop in case of reject take-off, it will plunge into the sea immediately,” said a pilot.
Port Blair is also subjected to frequent showers and strong winds cause more difficulties for the aircraft. Tailwind limitations for a Boeing are up to 10 knots and wind component at Port Blair is often more than that. Hence, landing there is a clear violation.
Moreover, there is no navigation aid en route. Pilots fly with aid from Chennai and Port Blair.
“In the case of Mangalore crash, rescue and fire-fighting was not possible immediately as the access road to the table-top runway was limited. Though equipment and other measures for fighting fire were present, help could not reach there in time. Port Blair can be a similar disaster story,” warned an airport official.
When contacted, Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan, said, “Port Blair is a defence airfield and falls under the Navy. However, I am told they are doing the needful to meet the fire-fighting norms.”