As we head into the annual winter chaos in aviation — the fog that envelopes large parts of North India in December and January — a feeling of dread begins to accompany all ticket bookings by passengers coming into the region. Will my flight actually land, and will I catch my connecting flight? How many hours of delay will I encounter? Will my flight take off at all? Is the Delhi airport and other affected airports equipped to handle the mayhem?
Last year, the fog and poor handling by almost all stakeholders led to mayhem at airports in the North, with the capital facing the brunt of it. Delhi, as a major hub for many early-morning departures, leads to a cascade of delays across the country. To manage perceptions more than anything else, the then Union civil aviation minister had set up “war rooms” to tackle this annual menace since there is very little the government can do on its own to mitigate these disruptions. The airlines, aircraft, and ground infrastructure need to come together in near-perfect harmony, almost like in a ballet performance to ensure things run relatively smoothly. Well, the good news is that after a chaotic and badly managed 2023, things look set to improve this winter. We seem to be getting more adept at fighting this war, or at least the armoury is in place for some squadrons of the army!
We finally have three operational runways at Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) equipped with what is known as CAT-III Instrument Landing Systems, enabling precision landing in pretty low visibility conditions, which is perhaps the most welcome news. In addition, the runway has newly installed visibility sensors and systems to provide real-time visibility data. Follow Me vehicles and jeeps have been equipped with GPS devices to assist operators in navigating through fog and maintaining situational awareness. DIAL claims that all airside personnel involved in low-visibility operations have undergone specialised training to handle the situation effectively.
Delhi airport says it has a plan to manage the ground situation better as well. Extra processing zones have been introduced to manage off-schedule international departures, and a “swing zone” to optimise resource allocation for international operations will be operationalised. This area is designed to handle busy hours with extra immigration counters and X-ray lanes to speed up the process for departing passengers. These zones can help the airport serve twice as many passengers. Additional terminal exits have been identified to expedite passenger evacuation in case of cancellations.
DIAL also says that it will provide extra counters for airlines to re-book passengers in case of flight disruptions, and a few extra security processing zones have been established to handle the rescreening of passengers disembarked due to delayed departures. Additional staff members have been deployed in terminals to assist passengers, apart from a dedicated task force of 180 non-operational staff trained to support terminal operations during low visibility. On paper, at least, DIAL seems to be in a better position than last year.
Airlines appear better prepared this year, too. Almost all airlines have some percentage of crew that are not yet trained in handling low-visibility conditions, but IndiGo and Air India’s performance will set the tone and determine outcomes.
With close to 86% of its pilots trained in low-visibility aircraft operations, IndiGo has implemented a comprehensive plan to tackle fog-related disruptions, including positioning crew close to airports to fill in quickly when required. The airline’s operations control centre will actively monitor visibility conditions to ensure that trained crew is available, even when assigned crew overshoots duty timing limits. Diverted aircraft will also be sent to airports where maintenance engineers are available to ensure smooth operations.
Air India, too, said that it had initiated several measures to minimise inconvenience to fliers due to the fog season. The airline said it has an average daily departure of 1,200 flights, of which Delhi, its primary hub, accounts for around 250. A spokesperson said the airline has an “adequate pool of cockpit crew fully trained in low visibility operations” to ensure that morning delays do not cascade into network-wide delays. He added that the operating aircraft are being properly equipped for low-visibility operations too.
But sources in the airline maintained, as things stand, around 50% of Air India’s total commanders and crew are trained in low-visibility operations, which might be inadequate, considering that trained crew is required for international operations too. This led to embarrassing situations for the carrier last year, where its flights to other countries in low-visibility conditions had to be diverted to other air spaces since the commander in charge was not trained to land in such situations.
I’ll just add one point here for airlines to remember: Communication is key. Inform passengers about delays or cancellations in time, not once they have already reached the airport. This can save everyone a lot of grief and reduce the stress on the terminal facilities.
By all indications and based on what my sources tell me, passengers on IndiGo are likely to find themselves on firmer ground than Air India. Fliers must also remember that for all the war and troop readiness, real life, like any battle, always springs surprises. As the maxim goes, focus on the journey and not the destination.
Anjuli Bhargava writes on governance,infrastructure and the social sector.The views expressed are personal
