NEW DELHI: In a huge relief to passengers, this year they may not remain holed up inside aircraft for hours, waiting for low visibility to improve at Delhi Airport before their aircraft can take off. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued a new circular that “allows smooth re-entry of passengers stranded inside aircraft due to weather or technical delays, minimising inconvenience and facilitating smoother re-boarding when flights resume. A drill of the same by concerned stakeholders is also being carried out,” the aviation ministry said Wednesday.
Waiting endlessly holed up inside aircraft at foggy airports like Delhi’s IGIA waiting for low visibility to improve has been one of the biggest complaints of passengers for several winters. Earlier airlines didn’t allow passengers of delayed flights to alight as that required them undergoing security checks again before boarding and add to flight delays with the aircraft losing its take off slot in the waiting list. So passengers were kept on board so that the plane can start taxiing as soon as it gets permission to do so for take off when fog lifted. Hopefully that should change this winter with the amended BCAS rule.
This decision was part of the several steps taken on Wednesday when Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu reviewed “early onset of fog/smog in NCR” to “ensure uninterrupted operations and better passenger comfort.” “Chaired a high-level meeting (on Wednesday) to ensure Delhi Airport is ready for the winter season. With a passenger-centric approach, Our preparations for winter challenges are on track,” he said on X (former Twitter).
Adopting a “passenger-centric approach,” he called for “real-time coordination between air traffic control, airlines, ground handlers and airport operators to maintain seamless operation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief D C Sharma had last week directed airlines to deploy CAT III-compliant aircraft and crew for evening to morning flights in and out of Delhi and other airports that have CAT III instrument landing system (ILS) facility. “All airlines have confirmed adherence with DGCA guidelines to deploy CAT II/III compliant aircraft and pilots in Delhi and other fog affected airports. Three out of four runways at the Delhi airport have activated CAT III ILS systems,” the statement added.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has been “advised to install LED screens at prominent locations to provide real-time updates on visibility conditions and to increase the availability of ‘follow me’ vehicles to guide aircraft during low visibility situations,” it said.
Naidu has asked airlines to proactively communicate with passengers about potential delays and cancellations due to visibility issues and ensure that correct passenger contact information is recorded during ticket booking. “And the flight has to be cancelled if the delay is exceeding three hours… Priority during any such delays/cancellations is proper facilitation of the passengers,” it says.
He also “directed that all check-in counters be fully staffed to minimise passenger inconvenience” during peak traffic hours. The meeting was attended by aviation secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam, who spent several hours at IGIA on late Monday night to review the situation, and other senior officials from DGCA, BCAS, Met department DIAL and representatives from airlines.
“The preparations for managing visibility-related challenges this winter are moving in the right direction with good progress made in resolving the bottlenecks. The ministry is committed to comfortable air travel with minimised disruptions,” the statement added.
