Airport authorities begin process for ILS installation
Times of India: The Airports Authority of India (AAI), Pune, has started the process for the installation of a sophisticated Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the city’s Lohegaon airport.
An ILS is a key navigational tool which facilitates safe landing of aircraft under reduced visibility conditions caused of weather-induced factors like rain or fog. It helps avoid situations like aborted landings or flight diversion.
On Wednesday, the AAI released a notice inviting tenders for the Rs 2.24 crore electrical engineering works that are meant for operationalising the ILS. Imported category I (CAT-I) level ILS equipment has already been acquired by the AAI for this purpose.
“The tenders are to be issued between February 16 and 18 and will be received till 3 pm on March 3. They will be opened the same day at 3.30 pm,” a senior official from AAI’s engineering (electrical) department told TOI. “The project is to be completed three months after the work is handed over,” he added.
“Among other things, the work involves laying of power cables, LT panels, stabilizers and advanced lightning protection system,” he said.
The process notwithstanding, it may take some time for the ILS to actually go operational, considering that the location where the equipment is to be placed, is not yet finalized.
“There are certain pre-defined technical requirements, which are needed to be met to finalise the ILS site,” said Pune airport director G Chandramouli. “We want to do it (ILS installation) before the monsoon,” he added. “Our (AAI) corporate headquarters and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are coordinating the process to finalise the site,” Chandramouli said. The Pune airport is part of the IAF’s Lohegaon air base.
Over the past few years, aircraft movement at the airport has gone up substantially. The airport handles 68 landing and take-offs each day for eight airliners operating passenger services to various domestic as well as foreign destinations.
According to earlier plans, announced by the then AAI authorities, the ILS was to go operational by October 2008, in view of the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG). However, the plan had to be put off owing to technical issues.
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