Kolkata, Feb. 2 -- Heavy fog leading to low visibility affected flight operations at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport, Kolkata on Sunday morning.
According to information shared by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Eastern Region, low visibility procedure (LVP) was implemented from 5:40 am on Sunday and continued till 8 am. Over this two-hour period, the airport authorities handled about 17 arrivals and 22 departures. There was a delay in one arrival while ten flights slated for departure got delayed.
It was shared that no aircraft had to return to the parking bay from the ramp while one flight scheduled for Dhaka was diverted to another airport for poor visibility reasons. There were no diversions to Kolkata airport during the two-hour period.
The Air Traffic Control (ATC) declares LVP when visibility drops below 800 metres after which 'follow-me' vehicles guide aircraft to their stands.
The LVP is also activated when the cloud ceiling is below 200 feet. The procedure involves coordination among the airport operator, air traffic ATC, and pilots to manage flights safely and minimise disruptions. These ensure that aircraft are able to land, taxi, and take off safely, using advanced navigation systems and ground lighting.
Flight operations at NSCBI Airport were disrupted for three consecutive days from January 23 to January 25 due to dense fog, affecting the schedules of airlines and causing inconvenience to passengers.
A total of 72 flights were affected on January 23, 34 flights on January 24, while 53 flights were affected on January 25.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.