With dense fog in several parts of the country affecting flight operations, no such disruption has been witnessed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar so far this season. Bhubaneswar airport director, Prasanna Pradhan on Wednesday informed that efforts have begun to upgrade the facilities of the airport runway to CAT-II.
“With Lord Jagannath’s blessings, we have not faced any issues like delay or cancellation of flights due to fog. We are also upgrading the existing ILS (Instrument Landing System) CAT I which allows landing in a visibility of 500 mts to CAT II,” said Pradhan.
This will be done as per the mandate of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The lighting system work is under process and we hope to complete it by March 31. The only process left for ILS is the full handover of the 2-acre land by the Odisha government, said Pradhan. Once the land is provided, we will fill and grade the area for the ILS and subsequently become ready for CAT II operations, Pradhan informed.
“Once CAT II calibrations are ready with necessary clearances, flights can land with a visibility of 300 mts on the runway. Our lighting systems will be ready by March and tenders have been awarded. As the area is low-lying, there is the problem of waterlogging. Once we get the land, we plan to start the work before the rainy season. We are coordinating with the state government for the transfer of land after removal of encroachments,” Pradhan added.