Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Dec 28, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Dec 28, 2005 |
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Climate & Weather Logistics - Airlines Private airlines told to train pilots to fly in foggy conditions — Fallout of delays, confusion at Delhi airport Our Bureau
The Civil Aviation Secretary, Mr Ajay Prasad, addressing a press conference in the Capital on Tuesday.— Ramesh Sharma
New Delhi , Dec. 27 THE Government has threatened that it would not allow private airlines to fly out of Delhi from next winter unless they have trained manpower to operate flights in foggy conditions, said the Secretary of Civil Aviation, Mr Ajay Prasad. "We have asked the private airlines to take positive steps to ensure that they have pilots and equipment that allow them to operate during foggy conditions. In case by next winter they are still not ready, then we may have to consider not giving them flights out of Delhi. They should not think of their profit and bottomline alone," said Mr Prasad. The warning comes after chaotic scenes were witnessed at the Delhi airport over the past three days as flights were delayed and cancelled due to foggy weather conditions. Many of the flights delayed or cancelled were those operated by private airlines. While the operations of Indian Airlines were also affected, the airline managed to operate several flights from here as it has nearly 90 pilots trained to operate in foggy conditions. Asked about the cost that the airlines would have to bear to train pilots for flying in foggy conditions, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Satinder Singh, said an immediate figure could not be provided. "The training of pilots to fly in foggy conditions is not a one-time thing. They have to go back for training every six months. Besides, if the airline has the infrastructure to train them in-house, then the cost of training will come down," Mr Singh said. Many airlines do not train their pilots to land in very foggy conditions as the training is expensive and it is not considered cost effective, especially since there are not many days when north Indian airports are foggy . Contingency plan: Meanwhile, the Government has put in place a contingency plan to ensure that domestic air passengers are not inconvenienced by weather related delays. "We have asked the airlines to increase the number of telephone lines available for passengers seeking information about flights. "Besides, they have also been asked to update their Web sites regularly and to take down the mobile numbers of passengers when a booking is made so that they can be informed of any flight delay through SMS. "We are also providing more space both in the terminal building and outside so that the airline can put up notices informing passengers about any delay," Mr Prasad said. A temporary structure that can seat 400 passengers is being constructed at the terminal used by private airlines here and more snack counters are being set up at the airport. "The airlines have also been asked to ensure that senior officials are available at the airport through the day so that decisions on passenger amenities can be taken on the spot. "We have also asked the low-cost airlines to ensure that the passengers are provided something to eat in case the flights are delayed," the Secretary said.
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