'Anti-fog system not worth the expense'

New Delhi: Talk about a fog index hovering over the aviation sector. Despite the chaos that threw air traffic out of gear last winter, and Airports Authority of India (AAI) spending Rs 200 cr on making various Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) compliant up to CAT-IIIB levels, the situation could well be the same this year.
Reason? Most airlines are reluctant to pump in money to upgrade planes and train pilots in these new systems for a few foggy days.
Figures for the last two years show how abysmally low was the use of CAT-III by airlines. According to AAI, only one departure using CAT-IIIB took place at IGI Airport — on January 3, 2006.
Arrivals using CAT-IIIB were six — mostly international airlines. Arrivals using CAT-IIIA were slightly better: 18; departures: 16. And all this for some 22 days of fog.
26/11/06 Shobha John/Times of India

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