There’s a good news for air travellers landing in Rajasthan. Last year, Jaipur airport received (Airports Authority of India) AAI’s approval to upgrade to the second-most high-tech instrument landing system (ILS). Having installed advanced CAT-IIIB lights in February 2016, now the airport authorities will start its trial from 8 December. But, this is not all! Rajasthan government has expanded Jaipur airstrip to 11,500 feet thus, giving a green signal to Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Also, the city will experience its first international flights to Bangkok, starting from 15th November. Kudos to Rajasthan government for raising the bars in air connectivity! With this, air-travellers look forward to additional facelifts in future.
CAT IIIB Lighting System on Jaipur Airport Will Ensure Safe Landing of Aircrafts
CAT IIIB lighting system uses as a ground-based instrument approach to provide precise 2D guidance to planes while approaching and landing on a runway. The system directs pilots even when they’re unable to establish visual contact with the landing strip.
What’s unique about CAT IIIB? It uses a smart combination of superior radio-navigation unit and high-intensity lightning arrays to ensure safe landing in times of IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) like snowstorms, cloudy sky, rain, thunder, dense fog and other such climatic conditions that reduce visibility. Lights are installed at regular intervals to indicate different points for landing. Upgrading Jaipur to superior CAT III level will enable the aircrafts to land amidst dense fog, even when the visibility trims down to 50 meters, a problem that threatened flight safety in past.
How this Will Affect Air Tourism in Rajasthan
Tourism season in Rajasthan begins during winters, from September to January. Earlier, fog and intense winter climate influenced the number of passengers flying in and out of Jaipur Airport but travel authorities have successfully resolved this issue with DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation)’s consent for this development. Following the trials of CAT-IIIB, Jaipur authorities will intimate all domestic and foreign airports about this latest improvement.
Making Jaipur CAT-IIIB compliant will not just ensure seamless flight operations during fog, but it will also boost air tourism in Rajasthan. Expansion in tourism industry will bring in more funds for the state. In future, Jaipur airport will receive international air traffic diverted by Delhi airport in the peak foggy season. This is a major achievement for Raje led Rajasthan government, which plans to project Rajasthan as the leading tourism hub in India.
