ILS equipment calibrated at Gannavaram Airport - India.

Once commissioning approval is obtained all the aircraft can make use of ILS

Localisers seen at the end of the Gannavaram Airport Runway that are part of the Instrument Landing System being tested and fine-tuned in Vijayawada by Airport Authorities of India team. Photo: Raju.V

The Instrument Landing System installed at the Gannavaram Airport near here has been calibrated after a two-day trial and testing conducted by a team of flight inspector and ground staff on Friday.

On the second day the AAI special aircraft equipped with the analyser and ILS equipment signal tracker took off at 8 a.m. and completed its technical observations and fine tuning of the equipment within one and a half hours and flew back, according to Airport Director C. Pattabhi.

Now the ILS is ready for trial by the commercial pilots once the report of the testing and calibration data is sent to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking his permission for allowing trials by the DGCA approved pilots in the commercial airlines. The feedback of the pilots would be taken for a period of one week to 10 days and the data sent to the DGCA again for seeking the final commissioning of the ILS.

Once commissioning approval is obtained all the aircraft can make use of the ILS and follow the distance norms fixed for visual sighting of the airstrip and then land depending on the weather conditions. This will help land more accurately and without hassles even in cloudy and fog conditions at this airport that is now equipped with CAT-1 ILS radio signalling systems.

More flights likely

Meanwhile, the SpiceJet, which has announced a Chennai flight in the winter schedule, is likely to introduce it sometime in February once it receives a new aircraft. Currently the Air India flight connects the city with New York with stops at Hyderabad and change of aircraft in New Delhi, but a single ticket is issued from Vijayawada.

People here feel this was big boost for the business here and there is a demand for direct flight to Mumbai, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam too in the summer schedule beginning March 24. One airline is likely to introduce a flight to Mumbai with a stop at Hyderabad, which would boost tourism and business travel from this region.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com