Barely two days after PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti expressed dismay over the frequent flight disruptions at the Srinagar Airport and demanded instrumentation Landing System (ILS), the Airport Authority of India Friday claimed that the ILS is already in place since the Srinagar Airport has been commissioned.“We have ILS in place at the Srinagar Airport since it has been commissioned. The Airport Authority of India at its own cost has provided the same ILS to the Srinagar Airport which is installed in the Delhi Airport. I can say with the responsibility that the system is working very well here at the aerodrome,” Director, Airport Authority of India in Srinagar, R K Shinde told KNS over phone.He claimed that if the Air force will provide Approach lights at the aerodrome, then landing can be done during the low visibility. “We have no approach lights in the runway. If at all the Air force which is looking after the runway provide the approach light system of runway, then it will help flights land in the fog or low visibility also,” the director said.
However Shinde said that for the proper up-gradation of the approach lights, the authorities need 1.5 kilometer distance. “We are completely dependent on the IAF for such up-gradation. Airport authority looks only terminal building of the airport and the rest of the Airport is under the control of Air force. But as per my knowledge the proper up gradation of the Approach lightening system needs 1.5 kilometer of distance,” he said.It is to mention here that, for the past few days Srinagar Airport witnessed frequent flight disruptions due to poor visibility, however the Air traffic was restored on Thursday after the weather improved.This was for the first time in about a decade that flights from Srinagar airport were cancelled due to fog. However, in the past, flights were being cancelled due to snowfall on runway.
After the frequent disruptions of the flights, Peoples Democratic Party President and Member Parliament, Mehbooba Mufti, demanded immediate installation of advanced Instrumentation Landing System (ILS) at the aerodrome to ensure flight operations even during minimum visibility.“Despite having been declared an International Airport almost a decade back, the technical facilities at Srinagar aerodrome continue to be outdated impeding the air traffic to and from Kashmir especially during the winters,” Mehbooba had said in a statement. (KNS)