CAT II ILS to operate at Srinagar airport by June

Srinagar: By completion of June, the Srinagar International Airport will have a CAT II Instrument Landing System (ILS) practical, which would make it possible for aircrafts to land even in low presence.

Director Srinagar International Airport, Kuldeep Singh informed Greater Kashmir that the CAT II ILS was now under building and construction and would be functional by June this year.

“It will be functional by end of June and will resolve prevailing visibility problem,” he said.

“The airport’s ILS is developed to run with an exposure of more than 1000 metres. If the presence falls listed below this limitation, we never ever run a flight. As an outcome, our ILS runs in an entirely secure and safe way. We are setting up a CAT II ILS system to prevent the airfield’s shutdown due to restricted presence,” another senior civil air travel authorities said.

He said that after the brand-new ILS system is taken into service, the presence limit would increase to 600 metres. “With the setup of this system, flight operations that were formerly interrupted throughout the winter season will enhance next winter season,” the authorities said.

Earlier, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture flayed the federal government for the non-availability of the current Instrument Landing System (ILS) CAT-II or CAT-III at the Srinagar International Airport, causing regular cancellations of flights.

“The committee is dismayed to note that regular delays in flight operations and cancellations of flights occur at the Srinagar Airport due to non-availability of CAT-II or CAT-III facilities,” checks out a report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

“The committee fails to understand the reason behind the non-installation of CAT II and CAT facilities at the Srinagar Airport in the present age of technology and that too at one of the strategic locations of J&K,” the committee said. “Some members of the committee faced a harrowing experience during the recent study visit of the committee to Srinagar as they were stranded at the Srinagar Airport due to the cancellation of flights amidst adverse foggy conditions. Availability of CAT-II or CAT-III landing facility at the Srinagar Airport could have facilitated the landing of aircraft in those circumstances.”

The committee said that the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had actually clarified that AAI keeps a Civil Enclave at Srinagar Airport while airfield setups and airside operations at the airports are preserved by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“At present, ILS Category I is operational and maintained by AAI at RWY 31 of the Srinagar Airport,” the committee said.

It has actually taken severe note of the hassle and hold-ups dealt with by the leaflets, specifically Members of Parliament, and worldwide and domestic travelers due to such shortages at the Srinagar Airport.

The report specifies that the committee hopes that the Modernisation of Military Airfields (MAFI) job which was a turn-key job would boost the functional ability by assisting in air operations of civilian airplane even in poor presence and negative climate condition while improving aerospace safety.

“The committee feels that Srinagar, being one of the most attractive tourist places in India, is visited by a large number of tourists and the absence of CAT-II or CAT-III facility at the Srinagar Airport hampers the flow of tourists to Kashmir, which in turn affects its economy badly,” the committee said.

It said that the ministry must impress upon IAF to set up such a center at the airport at the earliest.