VISAKHAPATNAM: The much-awaited in-flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) by the special Dornier aircraft of the Airport Authority of India at the 10,000-ft new runway of the Visakhapatnam airport is likely to be taken up on Thursday as the technical team from Delhi is presently undertaking recalibration work at the Kolkata airport.

Sources said if everything goes on well, the necessary approval for using new runway laid in the east-west direction of the airport and the Category-I ILS might be obtained by the Director-General of Civil Aviation by the month-end and there is a move to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony to inaugurate the facilities, including the night-landing facility, which had come up at a cost of Rs. 200 crores with the Navy spending three-fourths of the amount.

As per schedule, the aircraft team was supposed to reach Vizag on Wednesday itself after finishing the job in Kolkata. But due to bad weather there, its programme got delayed and after finishing the work it tried to reach Vizag in the evening but permission was not granted by the Navy. Even on Thursday, they have been told to carry out their job in the morning or evening (before sunset) and not during normal flight operations.

Ground support

The sources said in other airports the team carries out its job even during normal flight operations.

Anticipating the arrival of the five-member aircraft team, another team has already come to the city to provide ground support during calibration. The work is likely to last a couple of days as various technicalities of calibration like approach, level run, angle check and pattern check of the ILS had to be carried out, it is said.

Though the final approval for using the ILS, new runway and night-landing facilities is subject to the clearance of the Defence Ministry, the sources said pressure had been increased on the UPA government on the need to open the new runway and ILS early for air traffic before the onset of monsoon as the ordeal underwent by the passengers due to bad weather last year is still fresh in the mind.

The pressure on the Civil Aviation Ministry from various agencies is so much that the calibration team had been asked to finish the job at any cost before returning to Delhi. It is said the DGCA-certified test pilots of each airlines operating in Visakhapatnam would operate regular flights for a few days before allowing regular pilots to carry out the job after the new runway is opened to traffic.

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