Air India Dreamliner awaits nod to fly in thick fog

NEW DELHI: Uncertainty hangs over Air India's Dreamliner flying in thick fog this winter. The airline is still awaiting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's nod to operate the aircraft using category III instrument landing system (ILS Cat III) that allows planes to land in thick fog when visibility is below 100 metres.

This year, say sources, the airline trained most of its Dreamliner pilots in time for Cat III B operations but DGCA is yet to certify the aircraft for landing in dense fog. "In Delhi, dense fog is expected after a month but the Boeing 787 flies to London, Paris, Birmingham and Frankfurt and these places are already reporting low visibility. If an AI Dreamliner flies to these places and finds foggy conditions, the aircraft will have to look for an alternative airport that can have a category 1 landing, which means the visibility should be over 550 metres," said a source.

Unlike last year when the airline wasn't prepared, this time the regulator is being blamed for keeping the state-of-the-art plane in the category of small turboprops that can't operate in fog. Sources say the regulator wants some papers from Boeing on the aircraft's equipment for operating in fog which it hasn't received so far.

"There are some issues which we are examining before permitting the B 787 for Cat III operations," DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar said. AI chief Rohit Nandan expressed hope that the regulator will give its nod before fog hits Delhi.

If DGCA clearance doesn't come soon, AI may be forced to rework the schedule.