Land hurdle to Bagdogra night flights - Airlines unwilling to operate in dark in absence of landing system, says AAI official

Avijit Sinha, TT, Bagdogra, Dec. 18: A senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) today said the Darjeeling district administration's delay in handing over land to set up an Instrumental Landing System at Bagdogra aerodrome was discouraging airlines from operating flights from here at night.

The ILS, a component of which is the Approach Lighting System (ALS), is a ground-based technology that guides an aircraft through a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lighting arrays to enable safe landing and take-off when visibility is poor because of fog, rain, or blowing snow and darkness.

Several flights in Bagdogra have been cancelled in the past week because of fog.

The runway at Bagdogra is maintained by the Indian Air Force.

The airport does not have the instrument landing system (ILS). In its absence, the IAF, which provides all navigational aid for landing and take-off, use the Precision Approach Radar (PAR) system, which can guide planes at night, but in clear weather conditions.

In July 2013, the IAF allowed night landing at Bagdogra.

S. Bhaduri, the executive director (eastern region) of the AAI, told a news conference today: "Officials of the district administration have told us that they will provide compensation to some dwellers and hand over to us 23 acres required for the installation of the ALS. Once we receive the land, it would be handed over to the IAF which would install ILS and ALS at the airport. If we go by the assurance of the district administration, we hope the ILS would be ready at Bagdogra airport by next winter." At present, the runway in Bagdogra is around 9,270 ft or 2,784 metres long and there are five bays for parking flights. For installation of the ALS, the runway needs to be extended for another 900 metres where the approach lights would be put to guide the aircraft.

Though Bhaduri sounded optimistic, AAI sources said the delay on the part of district administration in handing over the land, is affecting services in Bagdogra.

"It is at least a five year old affair and yet, the administration could not hand over the land. The ILS and ALS can function at any time when there is poor visibility and it is only on last week that flights got cancelled due to poor visibility. Added to it is the discouragement among airliners to introduce evening flights. The IAF has increased the watch hour and is ready to install ILS and ALS but due to absence of land, it could not be done. If the land would have been handed over to us, passengers, both locals and tourists, would not have to face the inconveniences then. They could also avail facilities of more evening flights," the sources said.

"Bagdogra airport is the cheapest airport in the country now due to zero fuel surcharge provided by the state government. The growth in terms of passenger traffic is appreciative in past few years but the absence of ILS is posting deterrence in the airport's growth. The entire responsibility is with the state which could not manage to hand over the land to AAI," they added.

According to AAI sources, around 7.50 lakh passengers, among whom five per cent are foreigners, have travelled via Bagdogra airport in the 2013-14 fiscal. "In the current fiscal, we expect the number of passengers will touch the 10 lakh mark, which is a very encouraging trend," an official said. In course of the news conference, The ILS, sources said, is a ground-based technical system that guides an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway through a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during reduced visibility due to fog, rain, or blowing snow and at night.

2,784 metres The Approach Lighting System or forms a part of the ILS and is installed on the approach end of the runway. It the regional executive director, said that