KOCHI: Inclement weather will no longer affect the landing of aircraft at Kochi airport with the establishment installing the CAT III runway lighting system for Rs 36 crore. The upgraded Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) system enhances visual acuity and provides near-perfect alignment guidance to the pilot during final approach and landing, especially in adverse weather.
With this, Kochi airport has become the second in South India after Bengaluru to operate with the most advanced AGL system. The Kochi airport officials said the plan to upgrade the AGL from CAT I to CAT III was implemented with the runway renovation project launched in November last year to improve aerodrome safety and efficiency.
The upgrading involved providing bidirectional inset lights along the centre line of the runway with a 15m spacing instead of the earlier 30m, touchdown zone lights up to 900m of the runway and approach lights upgraded with additional approach side-row lights.The entire lighting on taxiways and aprons has also been upgraded. The enhanced AGL system is powered by state-of-the-art constant current regulators with computer-based monitoring from a centralised control room.
“The airport’s engineering wing laid close to 3 lakh metres of cabling with 18,000 meters of trenching and installed 2,000 new lights,” said a statement from the airport. Managing director of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) V J Kurian inaugurated the upgraded AGL system in the presence of CIAL director A C K Nair and executive director A M Shabeer.