DGCL to give Air India Dreamliners ILS category II certification to fly in light fog

NEW DELHI: Air India's Dreamliners are having a race against time to get prepared for Delhi's winter fog. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is all set to give instrument landing system (ILS) category II certification to the Boeing 787, allowing it to land ins hallow fog.

But whether the most crucial Cat III B certification — which lets aircraft land in dense fog — happens this winter or not remains to be seen.

"We will give Cat II certification soon and then each pilot will have to do 50 landings on this to go to the next step of Cat III. Let's see if that can happen this winter," said a senior official.

While the fog in Delhi may still be some time away, poor visibility in the foreign destinations where AI Dreamliners fly is already creating problems for its flyers.

On Sunday, for instance, AI's Delhi-Shanghai flight had to be diverted to Hangzhou (in China) due to poor visibility in Shanghai. AI had to then send 192 passengers to expensive hotels in Hangzhou.