BENGALURU: With the onset of winter, fog and poor visibility forcing frequent diversions of flights to neighbouring cities for a few hours are set to be the norm in Bengaluru.
Despite one of the runways of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) being CAT-III compliant (permits landing in zero visibility conditions), six flights were diverted on Sunday. Aviation experts felt that in situations beyond human control like poor weather at KIA, the HAL Airport needs to be given the green signal to allow landing of flights instead of taking the aircraft to Chennai, Hyderabad or Coimbatore.
Asked about the reason for the flight diversions despite the south runway at KIA declared CAT-III compliant in December 2020, an airport source said, “One of our two runways has CAT-III compliancy. However, it is not the airport but the pilot who needs to be trained for landing at a CAT-III runway. Many airlines do not have enough pilots trained to land in such conditions.”
An industry professional told The New Indian Express, “During any diversion, countless hours are lost for all passengers, the airline loses on precious fuel by heading to neighbouring cities and it is not environment friendly either. It makes much better sense to divert aircraft to HAL when it is not possible to land at KIA.”
An aviation expert added, “This is a win-win situation for all — the public, airlines and staff. Airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Ltd, can insist on the opening of a second airport in the city till 2033 as per its agreement, but this (HAL Airport) option needs to be pursued seriously in the interest of all. Bengaluru has the advantage of having different weather conditions in different areas, which needs to be exploited.”
Asked about the possibility, an Airports Authority of India official said, “We have upgraded all our systems at HAL. Within a fortnight, the Instrument Landing System too will be fully upgraded. An average of 11 to 12 flights land at the airport daily presently. In addition to that, VIP/VVIP aircraft, a huge Boeing 747 of a private firm, training aircraft, aircraft arriving there for maintenance, repair and overhaul and a few military aircraft, too, land and take off at the airport daily. Since it is an operational airport already, this can be managed easily.”
The official added that HAL needed to get a licence from the aviation regulator, the Directorate of General of Civil Aviation. “Since 2008 when regular commercial operations switched to KIA, HAL did not renew this licence. But it will not be a tough process since the airport is a functioning one,” he added.
Aviation professional and CAT-III pilot Captain Mohan Ranganathan was averse to the idea though. He felt it was a complicated affair as the step ladders and ground staff of different airlines needed to be put in place. “This is an expensive proposition. I have flown from HAL and the ILS there needs to be upgraded and kept ready,” he said.
Responding to it, another aviation professional said, “Passengers do not disembark at different airports the flights are diverted to and mostly sit inside the aircraft until they are flown back. The same can be done at HAL too. Alternatively, installing step ladders or posting staff by airlines will cost far less in the long run than flying an aircraft between cities.”